12-29-2021, 09:53 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-29-2021, 09:56 PM by SnowQueenSCW.
Edit Reason: Italics coding issue
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OOC: Takes place after Selena’s first roleplay and Deanna’s first roleplay (EOY Royale). Promo takes place day of End of Year Event. Best of luck, Tyler! Ending 2021 loud and proud!
Nome Community Cemetery
Nome, Alaska
December 25th, 2021
10:13am
“We are here today to pay our tribute and our respect to a man of God, our brother, Malcolm…”
The strong winds blowing along the large field of snow could almost drown out the minister’s words as he stood near the large tombstone of black, his robed shoulders standing at the stone’s fullest height. “…and have loved him as a friend. To know Malcolm was to love him!”
Selena preferred the sounds of the winter storm, her eyes fluttering closed as she stood amongst the crowd, feeling the cold wind push her front and back, her legs keeping her rooted into the snowy earth. When she opened her eyes again, she could see the multitudes of snowflakes dancing across the skies and everywhere in-between. She could see the numerous people of the small group that had gathered for the service standing behind her – oh, because she had been ‘invited’ by the family of the Scythe, she and her family were standing front and center, meaning so many eyes were on them – she almost rolled her eyes and growled at that, lowering her head to seem as if she was collecting herself.
Instead, sapphire eyes sought out the sight of her children, who stood just to her right. Much like her, the children had dressed for warmth amidst the cold than for a memorial service. All three of the children wore dark-colored, thick long coats with mittens/gloves and hats and durable, thick, insulated boots. Maybe it wasn’t as formal as the black longcoat and matching black suit and tie that Selena wore under said coat, but there was no way she was going to risk her children catching a cold because of one bitter man.
“Finally, we are here today to seek and to receive comfort. We would be less than honest if we said that our hearts have not ached over this situation. We are not too proud to acknowledge that we have come here today trusting that God would minister to our hearts, and give us strength as we continue in our walk with Him…” the minister’s words droned on and on and Selena spied her son, David’s, eyes opening and closing as he seemed to be nodding off, his balance teetering left and right between Selena and his sister, Elsianna. Quietly, Selena reached out a pale hand to rub his back, trying to get silently get him to hold on a little bit longer, her focus shifting over to her other children as well, Elsianna quietly fretting over holding her little sister, Amiliah, ensuring the youngest was being kept warm under these – not so much harsh, but unfavourable – conditions.
Her heart went out to them. The poor dears, having all decided to accompany the Snow Queen to this memorial service of the late former mayor of Nome, had had little time to savour Christmas and present-opening. Not only had Ryan Scythe chosen an ungodly day for this service, he had chosen the time for it to be earlier in the morning! The result had been Selena waking the children up at six in the morning to open presents – the three of them barely away and sleepily wiping crust out of their eyes as they tore open boxes to find their gifts. Even Deanna had been yawning all morning during their Christmas times, though she had been more insistent on the early wakeup call than Selena had.
At the thought of her beloved wife, Selena’s eyes drifted past her children, a little further down, to where her significant other stood. Like Selena, Deanna was combating the weather by wearing a thick, charcoal black coat. Unlike the older Frost, however, the redhead had opted for an inclined button side contrast maxi dress, the light-beige button and slit amongst the black standing out a little as the wind blew the skirt against Deanna’s legs, much like it blew the red strands of hair around her head.
Deanna… Selena’s eyes settled on her for a moment, the minister’s words reaching her over the passing wind.
“It is our human nature to want to understand everything now, but TRUST requires that we lean and rely heavily on God even when things seem unclear. Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
Not understanding had been something Selena had settled on for only a short time with her darling. She had replayed their minor confrontation that had happened a few days ago back in Manhattan over and over again – recalling her wife’s tears, her refusal to explain and her shoving Selena, even if only a little.
Selena had refused to pry. She had no right to. How many things had she hidden from Deanna over the years? How many times had she chosen silence over simple communication despite her wife’s pleas?
Out of the corner of her eye, Selena watched her wife remain focused on the service to the late Malcolm. Since their tense moment back home, Deanna had returned, mostly, to being the woman that Selena knew. She was focused on being there for the platinum-blonde and their children, tucking what was bothering her away, it would seem, to deal with later. So like her… Selena thought with a quiet exhale, her breath instantly transforming into midst that rode the air. Always putting family first…
It was why she had been grateful to fate for giving her an answer without Deanna knowing – the Snow Queen’s mind quietly shifting to the folded piece of paper she had found under the bed that day after her wife had left the bedroom in Manhattan to help the children pack. For a split second, and for the umpteenth time, the young Frost threw a silent prayer to Odin - please let it be in Ottawa when we arrive…for Deanna…
“Philippians 4:7!” proclaimed the minister, unaware of the mental exercise the platinum-blonde was going through, his voice ringing louder as the wind picked up for a moment. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!”
The turnout for the funeral had not been the largest Selena had attended in the past – certainly larger than her stepmother, Anastasia’s, or the one she had held for her father when she had been 11, unaware that the man was actually still alive, but the moderate size of the crowd didn’t surprise her. Who were her father and step-mother? Who was she? Nobodies. Low-class citizens, at the time, that nobody would miss. And she, the “crazy miner’s daughter”, “The Snow Queen”…
Her eyes swept over the tombstone that had Malcolm’s name etched into it, along with his date of birth and date of death. Little else had been placed there due to the strong winds and winter weather, not even a picture.
Not that she would ever forget that man’s face – one that could pop up at any time in her mind to mock her.
Another slow exhale provided another strip of mist in the area. She could see the Scythe family standing a bit to the left, Talia standing the closest, followed by Gavin and Ryan. They all wore thick coats, but Ryan had, surprise surprise, chosen a dark purple.
“Ashes to ashes…” read the minister, re-earning Selena’s attention. “Dust to dust. Amen…”
“Amen.” Replied the group, except for Selena. The masses were ‘praying’ to a god that she didn’t believe in in the same way that they did, so she remained silent, casting her gaze down to her hands. She was surprised when she saw the small hand reach up to take one of hers. Following the tiny appendage, Selena’s eyes met those of her little son, David looking up with her, his expression so drowsy.
“Is it over?” he whispered, rubbing one eye with the palm of his free hand.
The poor boy… The Snow Queen smiled sadly, giving his hand a squeeze. “Almost.” She whispered to him.
“I’m tired.” Came the quiet whine.
“I know, and you’re being so good.” Selena whispered back. “Can you just hold out a little longer?” she asked, keeping her voice low so as not to draw too much attention.
David gave a quiet nod before his head turned, his attention taken by someone. Turning her head, Selena followed her son’s line of vision as she saw the walking purple-coat stroll to where the minister had been standing next to Malcolm’s tombstone.
Oh great… the wrestler’s mind growled as Ryan adjusted his coat and observed the crowd, actually giving a smile to all of them! As if he was enjoying this kind of attention being on him. Of course, the expression was fleeting, lasting only a second before become somber again, but Selena had caught it, her eyes locked on her former fiancé as he took a deep breath to speak.
“The author Frank Clark wrote, ‘A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be.’” He let that statement hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “My father was the best man I knew. Even so, he expected us, his sons, to be better. He did this by holding us accountable for our actions.”
Despite herself, Selena actually found herself agreeing with that statement. Hell, she had witnessed it over and over again. It was perhaps one of the few traits Malcolm had possessed that she respected. Accountability. It was something that the former mayor had believed in more than anything. When Selena had bested him in their way, thanks to her stepmother, he had backed down and accepted defeat, honoring their deal in the years that followed. When Talia had failed in her mission to ‘dethrone’ Selena and take her crown as ‘The Snow Queen’, it had been Malcolm that had forced her to honor her deal with Selena and exiled her to Germany until they had freed Deanna from Frankfurt Prison III. And at the Serpentine Springs, Ryan had alluded to Malcolm’s demands that he stay away from Elsianna and David despite the former being the biological father-
For a brief second, Selena spied Ryan’s eyes settling on her and her unaware children. It was less than a second, if she were honest, but the look had gripped her spine with a sense of dread – Ryan’s threats back at the springs echoing in her ears. Threats of coming after the children and finish what he and Malcolm had started years ago now that Malcolm was ‘out of the way’. Still, the eldest Scythe’s gaze did not linger, shifting to engage the crowd that watched him as he continued his own eulogy.
"If Gavin and I weren’t living up to his expectations, he was sure to let us know. But he was never unkind about it. He showed us that real men needed to be compassionate as well as strong…” he paused for effect – He’d be decent at cutting promos. Selena thought, remarking on the man’s ability to use speech and emotion to get the desired effect, which in this case seemed to be sympathy and attention from the mourning crowd.
“I’ll never be able to express how grateful I am for the way he raised us. But I will continue to always try to exceed his expectations about who I could be.” Ryan vowed, casting a glance at the tombstone for a moment before returning his attention to the crowd. “I think… I think he would want to hear this now…” he started, immediately putting Selena’s senses on alert. What was Ryan planning?
“Because as much as he loved his sons, my father loved this town – this corner of the world. He loved Nome. He loved its people, every single one.” Again, his eyes settled on Selena before, again, stealing a glance to every other Frost family member. For a moment, Selena wished that Jean Black and Zoe Evers were here, but they had purposefully not been invited – perhaps by Ryan to leave the Frost family without support.
“And in this time of mourning and sadness…” Ryan continued. “We must be reminded of the season – the season of peace and kindness. Of hope.” For a second, Selena felt a strong sense of déjà vu, being reminded of The Brand, especially Cid Turner and Holly Adams. To say that she had thought of nothing else in the days that had built to this service would be untrue. Still, with her title defence looming closer and closer, The Brand had been living in Selena’s head, at least part of it, rent-free since the last episode of Breakdown.
Holly had a win over her.
Giovanni had a win over her.
And while she had survived her war with Cid Turner, emerging as the world champion, those two statements still haunted her. Did she believe what Holly had been saying? No. She knew, one on one, she could beat Holly. She knew, one on one, she could beat Giovanni – she had in the past.
The problem lay in the fact that, much like the Scythe family, The Brand had rarely fought one on one. Even her matches with Cid Turner – if interference was allowed, it was always attempted. She had been fortunate that both her match with Cid at Taking Hold of the Flame and again in New York had been made where ‘interference was prohibited’ but she didn’t have that this time with Holly. And, unlike Jordan Majors, she didn’t have a cage to keep Holly locked in and The Brand out.
Distraction and ambushes. It was a sound strategy and it had proven to work… and it was what Selena was expecting for the same reason she was dreading it.
Because she had no answer for it, aside for Deanna. Unlike the Brand and unlike the Scythes, she was one person – two if including Deanna. Her enemies were a faction, a stable, a group of individuals with no moral compass or rationale for fairness. All that mattered was getting whatever they desired.
Ryan Scythe wanted revenge or some kind of suffering on Selena.
Holly Adams wanted the SCW World title back and for Selena to suffer.
And then there was the wildcard of Killjoy-
Bitterly, Selena shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts and refocus, using her hand to swipe at the snowflakes that had settled in her hair, small clumps of the white powder falling off her and landing on the ground. Her senses, dulled by her musings, sharpened and refocused back to the present, taking Ryan - Is he still talking?! Selena mentally whined. Gods, even I’m going to fall asleep as this rate.
“…and a message of hope and faith is what is needed!” Ryan stated, unaware Selena had been ignoring him for a few seconds. “So, it is with a heart filled with mourning, yet filled with love for my father and a love I shared with him for Nome and its people that I honor him and this season by announcing my candidacy to run for mayor of Nome.”
The crowd seemed silent for a moment – Selena, however, was stunned. Is he serious? she thought. He’s doing this now?!
The utter tastelessness was not lost on her, but she was far too stunned by the brazen nature of the statement to say anything. In truth, it was the ultimate ‘Scythe’ thing to do, taking advantage of a situation to better one’s own standing. Hadn’t Malcolm done the same thing in eliminating her father? Hadn’t Talia done it in blackmailing Selena to re-enter “the Snow Queen pageant” against her? In a way, Selena knew she shouldn’t have been surprised by Ryan doing what Scythes had done before him, and yet…
It’s still so wrong…
A slow applause started in the back and grew to a respectful volume, the group, perhaps out of respect, responding positively to the announcement. Despite their clapping, Ryan’s focus resettled back on Selena. In a quick decision, not wanting to give him any ammunition to use against her in that moment, Selena lifted her hands to offer a stern clap of her own, a fraction slower than the others. Out of the corner of her way, she spied Deanna adopting a similar clap, as did Elsianna. David, thinking the funeral was over, however, and still drowsy, snapped fully awake and began clapping madly.
“Wooo!” the boy cried. “Go grandpa!”
The remark was drowned mostly by the wind, but the few people that heard in the front, including Selena, could not help but laugh at the poor boy’s state – not at him, but rather in understanding. With a pale hand, Selena ruffled David’s hair, casting a satisfied smirk at Ryan for the break in his diatribe.
The purple-suited man’s eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly. Yet, as the applause died back down, that smirk returned to his features, returning Selena’s feelings of uneasiness.
“Now…” he held up a hand to further instill silence within the crowd. “I’d like to turn the floor over to someone very close to my father. So much so that she travelled from New York just to be here-“
Oh no… Selena’s eyes went wide, her brain connecting the dots a fraction too late.
“Selena Frost.” Ryan gestured a hand towards Selena, the Snow Queen looking less queenly and more like a dear in headlights!
It suddenly made sense! The invitation, pushing her to stand at the front of the line as a ‘guest’… it was for this moment! She could see the smug smile hidden behind the ‘mourning features’ of Ryan. He had planned this! He had, effectively, put Selena on the spot. If she refused, she’d be the enemy of the people while endearing Ryan to them. But the only alternative would be to praise Malcolm!
And Ryan knows full well I would never do that after all that bastard has done! Selena’s mind raged. There was no other way to look at this but the obvious – she was trapped! Either hatred by the people of Nome, again, or submission and eating crow in praising a man she had despised for so many years!
I’m trapped… her brain whispered multiple times in the span of a second.
“Selena?” Ryan called knowingly, beckoning the wrestler to approach Malcolm’s tombstone.
A few shaky breaths spilled out of Selena, her eyes jerking to the left side where she spied the stunned and confused expressions of Talia and Gavin, the pair looking at her with as much uncertainty as she, but also a sense of sadness, the pair connecting the dots of this as well as Selena had.
“I…” Selena whispered but stopped as she suddenly felt a warm hand in hers. Turning her head, she saw Deanna standing beside her. She felt the eyes of the crowd on her suddenly disappear, or rather, the weight of it no longer affected her. Just the emerald eyes boring into hers as Deanna leaned forward to, in a comforting way, kiss Selena’s cheek. The intention, Selena realized, however, were the two words the echoed only into her ear from her wife.
“Royal Letter.”
Sapphire eyes widened at the sudden realization of what Deanna was implying. The worries melted off her and a smile came to Selena’s face. Carefully, she took the few steps necessary to approach the black tombstone, her hand reaching out to touch it, feeling the cold stone against her skin before turning back to the crowd.
Royal letter… her mind echoed as she took in a deep breath, feeling the wrestler part of her slide into place.
“Thank you, Ryan.” She said loudly as the elder Scythe retreated back to his spot in the crowd, his face not betraying an inch of the smugness he must have felt seeing her up there. “Thank you for that moving message. I mean, I was going to announce MY candidacy for mayor of Nome, but darn it, you beat me to it!”
A slight laugh came from the crowd, moreso from Deanna, who bit her lower lip to control herself a bit better. This was a memorial service after all.
Casting a glance at the tombstone again, specifically the name etched into it, Selena released a sigh. “I think Malcolm would have wanted us to laugh a little here rather than grieve. I mean, it’s Christmas day, and has there ever been a day in Nome where it wasn’t somewhere between ‘Holy cats it’s cold’ and ‘A second Ice-Age’?” she couldn’t help the smile that came to her face. “No… Malcolm knew that there was always a time to grieve and a time to laugh. There was a place for everything. Even someone like me…”
She turned her gaze to the crowd, recognizing a few of the faces of the Nome citizens. “Some of you know me. You know the kind of person I was. My father. The gold mine.” She shrugged. “We never really got along, I know. And I won’t be saying anything about that – the past is just that. The past.”
She bit her lower lip. “But I was a nobody. ‘The crazy miner’s daughter’. Somebody with no real significance – my family, me – that’s how I felt. Malcolm…” she cast a glance back to the name on the stone before returning it to the group. “Malcolm never felt that way. You know, for all he did, all he thought – he still had a place for someone like me. A nobody. Someone like me still had a part to play in his world…”
Reaching up a pale hand, the platinum-blonde scratched the back of her scalp, taking comfort in the sharp feeling of her nails against her skin.
“And I won’t say there were bad times between us. Every relationship has them. Moments where we disagreed, where we fought-“ her eyes caught the smirk, slight as it was, on Ryan’s face, the man believing this was where things fell apart.
Conceal… Selena’s mind whispered. Don’t feel.
“But…” she breathed. “In a way, that was Malcolm always trying to make me better. Make me fulfill whatever expectations he had for me – just like he did for his sons.” Her eyes moved down to the snow just in front of her. “Malcolm lived in a world that few of us have ever had to worry about in the small town of Nome. The world of politicians. A world of manipulations, of lies and half-truths, of backroom deals and betrayals. I’m sure we’ve all watched the news…”
“And while he tried to spare this town the dreads of that world, he still had to live by a rather ruthless manner to achieve what he could for Nome, its people, and for his family. And…” Selena shrugged her shoulders, finding the words easier to say than she imagined. “In a way… he taught me to never stop fighting.”
Lifting her gaze, the young Frost was surprised to see so many eyes on her, except they weren’t angry or condemning her for her words. They were patient, understanding, waiting for her to finish.
“Malcolm was partly the reason that I believed that I could be more than just the daughter of a miner. He made me realize that, if I fought for everything I wanted in life, I could achieve anything. And if that happened to be outside of Nome, then I needed to pursue it with all I had. He taught me that being greedy for something wasn’t always a bad thing if you believed in it enough and you used it for good.”
“I suppose, in a way…” casting one last glance towards the tombstone, Selena placed her hand back on it. “I wouldn’t be here now, where I am now, without the part that Malcolm played. And…” she took a shaky breath. “I will always be grateful to him for that. For the rest of my life… thank you.”
With a slight nod, Selena stepped away from the stone, moving a few steps back the way she had come.
A flash of light caught her eye as she moved however, drawing her head up to a spot beyond the crowd. Across the cemetery, several yards away…she spotted the biker helmet that the sunlight, temporarily breaking through the overcast clouds, had refracted off of….
And the skull artwork etched onto the helmet as it ‘stared’ over the crowd and straight at her.
No… her eyes grew wide. It can’t be…
The figure stood closer to the pavement-path that travelled throughout the cemetery for vehicles, its arms crossed as it viewed the service from a far. Seeing Selena’s eyes on him, however, he slowly turned and began walking down the path towards, disappearing from sight as several of the planted trees blocked Selena’s view of him.
Casting a quick glance at her family, she quietly rushed towards Deanna, taking her hand in hers and leaning towards her beloved as another speaker for Malcolm took her place by the tombstone to share their stories of the former mayor.
“Stay here.” She ordered. “Please.”
“Wha-“ Deanna started before she saw the look of terror in her wife’s eyes. “Is it?” her head jerked around.
To answer, Selena nodded. “The gun is in your purse.” She whispered. “Make sure he doesn’t get near our children.”
The redhead gave a slow nod. “Come back to me.” She whispered, her one hand gripping Selena’s tightly.
“I will.” Selena whispered, offering the kindest smile she could. “You still have to tell me what’s bothering you, remember?”
She didn’t let her wife reply, instead briskly moving through the crowd and across the field, passing numerous graves until she was walking the same path she had seen the skulled-being take. It wasn’t hard to follow at that point, the footsteps in the snow clear as day, even with more falling from the skies.
The wind howled as she walked across the desert of snow, whipping her hair in all directions. The crunch of the snow was suddenly louder in her ears, or was that just because of her heart beating faster and harder as she walked the path through the cemetery as it took her left and right and across the ‘field’. She knew she hadn’t been hallucinating. The footprints were proof of that! Yet, as she reached a hill and looked down it, she questioned whether it had been smart to leave her gun with Deanna…
The hill descended into a sort of valley of graves and, to the left of them stood a gray-stoned mausoleum, a sort of stone temple or church amidst a sea of the dead.
And the footprints lead right to it… Of course they did.
With a slow inhale and exhale of breath, Selena continued to walk the path, being careful not to slip or fall as she did. The valley seemed to protect her from the heavy winds as the whipping sensation around her began to die down and the snowfall began to ease. She could make out the stairs just in front of her as she reached the mausoleum and, with a few more jilted breaths, she stepped up them and pulled open the door, allowing herself access to the erected building of tombs.
Immediately, the sound of the winds and bite of the storm (what remained of it) was blocked, allowing Selena to shake off the snow on her shoulders and head. She stepped further into the room, her eyes taking in the gray stones and names that lined the walls. She could see the multitude of crypts surrounding her, but it wasn’t until she turned the corner that she spied the window against the stone wall.
He stood by it, illuminated by the clouded forecast raging outside. There was no mistaking the skull-design of the helmet he still wore – no mistaking him now.
“Came to admire your handiwork?” Selena called out, not surprised when he didn’t give any sign of surprise.
“No.” Killjoy responded. “I saw enough of it when I saw the light drain from his eyes.”
Selena’s jaw clenched. The bastard wasn’t even going to deny killing Malcolm – she even detected a hint of satisfaction in his declarations.
“I’d say you got a new head on your shoulders…” she gestured to the helmet as Killjoy turned to her. “But if you’re dumb enough to admit to murder, maybe that isn’t so.”
“And if you were going to have me arrested, you wouldn’t have come alone.” Killjoy countered. “You know the police can’t stop me anymore than you can.”
“That remains to be seen.” Selena replied. “How’s your arm doing by the way?” she gestured, pointing to the arm that Deanna had shot the last time Killjoy had made his presence known.
To answer, Killjoy held out the indicated arm. “Better than ever.” He simply replied. “Or would you like to test that right now?” he challenged with a tilt of his head.
Despite every fiber of her being wanting to rip him to shreds, the memory of their last fight played in her mind. How Killjoy had expertly evaded and blocked every attack she had made – how he had trounced her in a one-on-one fight.
Though her hands tightened into fists, she did not take a step closer to the madman, earning a small laugh from him. “Good girl.” He mocked. “You’re learning. Have you accepted that you are on borrowed time? That you exist presently simply because I wish it?”
“No.” Selena replied honestly. “I’ve accepted that, sooner or later, you’re going to make your move. And when that happens, you’re going to fail.”
“Are you so certain?” Killjoy asked, tilting his head the other way. “I’m not one of your enemies in SCW. You can’t be rid of me just by knocking me unconscious for three seconds.”
“I’m aware.” Selena replied, standing her ground.
“Then you are prepared to kill me?”
“If it comes to that.” Came Selena’s answer, crossing her arms. “I’d rather you give me some answers and we try and talk about this.”
“Talk?” laughed Killjoy, leaning up against the wall where the window was. “After what I did to Malcolm, you wish to reason with me?”
“I wish to know why you have such a hatred for us.” The platinum-blonde answered honestly. “I know you feel I robbed you of something. That you want what I have but I don’t understand why. I don’t understand what motivates you. I don’t get… I don’t get this!” she huffed.
“I admire your candor.” Killjoy remarked, his honesty surprising Selena, who gave a slight shrug.
“If you were going to kill me…” she started, paraphrasing Killjoy’s earlier words with a second shrug.
“Surely Malcolm would have told you by now – or at least given you something…” he turned his head knowingly, ‘eyes’ locked on the Snow Queen. “Of course he didn’t.” he added after a moment of silence from Selena. “Because knowing would destroy you, right? That what he said?”
“Yes.” Selena stated.
“Yet, you still wish to know?” Killjoy inquired. “Hmmm.” A laugh came from his warped voice, the same filtered tone that had filled some of Selena’s nightmares.
“I know Malcolm was a horrible person and did so much evil in Nome – maybe in the world-“
“You can’t begin to imagine what he’s done to me.” Killjoy growled, showing anger for the first time today.
“I get it!” Selena pressed. “You hate him. I suffered at his hands too – or did you leave that part out in your ‘study’ of me?”
“I’m aware of it.” Killjoy replied, calm once more. “But your suffering pales in comparison to mine. And you are as much to blame as Malcolm is for it. Unknowingly or not.”
“How is that fair?!” Selena asked. “I don’t know you. I don’t know what you went through but if you were suffering because of me, I’d have done everything in my power to fix it.”
“This is beyond fair.” Barked Killjoy. “This is justice. You are responsible, knowing or otherwise is irrelevant. You are responsible. Therefore, you will pay.”
The two stood there, staring down one another until Killjoy broke the silence. “This is not something you can change.” He stated. “You cannot turn a sinner into a saint, no matter how many times you’ve tried.”
“What are you talking about?” Selena asked.
“Regan, Kelcey, Kennedy, Anastasia, Nicodemus, even Malcolm Scythe… how many sinners have you tried to look past and see some good in them? How many of them did you give ‘second chances’ to? How many of them did you try and save? Or try to forgive?”
Selena’s mouth opened but no sound came out. She didn’t have a response for that – because it was true. Her life had been a constant flux of enemies turning friends, friends turning enemies, and then all back again and so many times, Selena had forgiven them. From Dawn Lohan to Regan Street, even the people that had almost destroyed her like her stepmother and Malcolm – Hell, she had JUST given a kind eulogy to the bastard that had tried to kidnap her own children!
“You don’t even realize how easily you forgive. How much you feel you NEED to save everyone.” Killjoy shook his head sadly. “You can’t this time around. You couldn’t save Malcolm, you can’t save me and you can’t save yourself.”
A lump formed in Selena’s throat and the Snow Queen gulped quietly, trying to force it down.
“I…” she tried. “I am still going to try.” She replied.
“I know.” Killjoy replied. “And it will cost you.”
Reaching into his pocket – causing Selena to immediately step back into a defensive position, her fists up – Killjoy held up a folded piece of paper between his two fingers.
Similar to the one I found under Deanna’s and my bed…the one of- Quickly shaking her head to stay in the present, Selena eyes Killjoy as he placed the piece of paper on the windowsill of stone, the glass of the window preventing it from being blown away by the outside storm.
“What’s that?” Selena asked, gesturing to the paper.
“Your destruction.” Killjoy replied. “The very thing Malcolm told you not to know.”
“Then what makes you think I’ll even look at it?!” Selena barked back.
“Because you won’t be able to help it.” She could almost imagine Killjoy grinning under that helmet. “Because you still think you can solve all of this. Because you can’t stand feeling so powerless in all of this. Because you’ll do anything for some semblance of control, even if you know it will destroy you…”
The skulled-madman gave a shrug. “Or not. You could prove me wrong and just walk away and wait for me to make my move. Take my advice…take Malcolm’s advice… and be happy-“
Sapphire eyes widened in alarm. “How…how do you know about that?”
The fiend gave a laugh before moving away from the window, walking past Selena and heading to the door. The Snow Queen did not move until she heard the door close, collapsing to the floor the second she did, her energy spent despite doing very little physically.
Her head turned towards the door, Killjoy long gone but it was like she could still see him. “My destruction…” she whispered, turning her head back towards the windowsill where the folded piece of paper lay. How long she stayed there, on the floor of the mausoleum, she wasn’t sure, the only sound filling her ears was the storm that kept coming and going outside within and around the valley.
Slowly, Selena pushed herself to her feet, her eyes still on that window. Don’t do it… her mind warned. There’s a reason Malcolm, of all people warned you not to. There’s a reason Killjoy wants you to know…
She wanted to turn away. To leave that paper and all its contents to rot with corpses in this ‘fancy tomb’.
But Killjoy was right – and he knew it… She couldn’t just walk away. She couldn’t let this go. She couldn’t stand to just be an ignorant participant in this war any longer.
She stepped towards the window. And again. And again. And again until she was standing in front of it. With one huff of breath, she grabbed the paper of the stone and held it in her hand, eyes squeezed shut as she tried to control her heart as it hammered with in her chest. She could almost hear Malcolm’s voice in her head.
Once you look…once you know… there will be no turning back…
“No, Malcolm…” Selena whispered as she slowly unfolded the paper. “We passed that point a long time ago.” She added with a growl as she stared at the paper. There, scribbled in pen were three words that Selena would soon wish she had never heard strung together…
Project: Black Ice
*****************************************************************
[/i]
![[Image: tetXUW1.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/tetXUW1.gif)
The camera opens up to reveal the interior of the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa, Canada! It is the site of the final show 2021 show of SCW – the End of the Year Special! The arena is mostly empty at the moment, though the setup for the event has concluded. The only person seen is the young woman standing in the ring. She is dressed in a dark purple version of her wrestling attire, with the large snowflakes on her shoulders a contrasting white. Her platinum-blonde hair, iconic in its color, makes it beyond clear this woman’s identity as she looks around the arena, reflectively.
Eight years ago… her voice is soft but it clear as the camera focuses on her. It was eight years ago, at this very event, that a young nobody from Nome, Alaska, scrimped up what little savings she had, hopped on a plane, and flew to the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa, Canada, for a shot – one in a million – to change her life.
Her sapphire eyes continue to take in the empty arena, which would, in a matter of hours, be filled with eager members of the SCW Universe. It was five years ago that that same nobody, at the very event she took that risk, became the SCW World champion!
Turning her gaze to one of the farther turnbuckles, the woman spies the leather and gold title sitting elegantly on the top turnbuckle. Carefully, she reaches out to take it, placing it over her shoulder and returning her gaze to her audience.
And tonight, that same person – surviving eight years in this business – will defend the SCW World championship in the main-event in the very arena she made her debut!
Allowing a moment to let the history of this place sink in, Selena Frost offers a kind, happy smile. I mean…what more could I ask for? I feel like I have come full circle. For so many years, at least as a singles wrestler, I was defined by one particular time. “The Year of Selena Frost”. Considered to be a famous moment, but to me, it was infamous. It was a year that was above and beyond what anyone expected from me – what I thought I was capable of. A year where I won not only the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament, but also the Best of the Best Tournament and became the SCW World Champion.
The Snow Queen tilts her head for a moment, as if recalling that year. It was a year the cemented my legitimacy in this business, cemented my place as a top-tier fighter in SCW. But it was also a year that the world believed I could never duplicate. A year I could never achieve again…
And when I came back into the world title picture after my sister, Regan, was injured at the start of this year, that was the first fear that I had in my head. “How can I possibly reach that level again? How can I possibly be ‘that good’ again?”. I mean, how many people win the lottery twice? How many people get a second jackpot in their life? How many people win more than one Oscar? How many people get to go into the Hall of Fame more than once? How many people get a second chance to do something so incredible?
Looking down, a smile forms again and she slowly shakes her head. But I had to try. I had to at least try to do it, because if I didn’t, if I just accepted that the best was behind me, then I would not only be failing all of you, I’d not only be disrespecting SCW, I’d be abandoning everything that I believed in. The idea that hard work and patience and passion and never giving up – it all pays off! That anything is possible if you believe and are willing to stand by your morals of integrity and if you have the [i]heart to get through it. her free hand settles over her heart for a second before it lowers back down, the world champion raising that arm as a gesture to the side.
Now? Here I stand – the longest World title reign this year. The only person to have defeated Cid Turner twice in this ring, main-evented Rise to Greatness and won “The Unbelievable Main Event”, winning the world title in my home of New York… maybe all of that isn’t ‘as big’ to some people compared to 2016, but to me? It is so much more. It is so much more to have proven, after five long years, that while 2016 will always be part of my history, it does not, nor will EVER, define me! her voice stressed that word on emphasis.
No year, past, present or future will ever do that again. Because guess what? I’m going try to make 2022 better than this one. Same with 2023 and 2024 and 2025 and 2026 until I can’t do this anymore, THAT will be my purpose! Making the next year better than the last. For me. For SCW. For each and every one of you! she looks around the ring before returning her gaze back to the camera, giving a small shrug.
But that’s 2022… I’ve still got one more match left to head off 2021. she holds up one finger to indicate the number.
And if you heard me in my Royal Letter, you all know how much I am looking forward to it! I want nothing more than to kick Holly Adams’ head off. And the reasons? I mean, do I need any more? You’ve got scandals, lies, disrespecting titles, putting your hands on my wife, bullying on Twitter, hiding behind injuries, mocking the company, mocking legends like Regan Street and Syren – I could probably write a four-hour lecture just on the reasons why Holly Adams deserves the beating of the year – hell, the beating of a LIFETIME!
Instead of carrying on with her enthusiasm, the young woman holds up a hand for a second, to calm her audience. But the thing is…this isn’t just ‘match number two’ between Holly and I. It isn’t. This is match number eight or nine of ‘Selena Frost vs. The Brand’. Think about it, all the fights I’ve had with Asher Hayes, with Cid Turner, with Giovanni Aries, and with Holly Adams – 2021, I have been neck-deep in a war with not just one of you, but all of you – all of The Brand.
And…maybe with this being about ‘reflection’ as the End of the Year event often invites, I’ve had the chance to see it as that. And it’s allowed me to take a look at you, Holly, and understand you just a little bit better.
With her free hand, she scratches her head. See, like I told you, Holly, I wondered where you’d be if you hadn’t hitched your wagon to A/C Unit or Aries or Infamous. I wondered if you’d actually make it as you have or would you just crash and burn…
And from that, I realized…that’s something you don’t really like talking about, do you?
Because you’re not some person that came to SCW, struck it big, and then was handed this match within their first few years of her career, are you? No, you were here before, weren’t you? You were here before I was. Back in 2008, right? In the days of Greg Cherry, Lenne Perez, Dillusion, you were there.
See, this isn’t some ‘evolution of a rookie’ for you like it’s been in the past few years for people like Marie Jones, AJ Helms, and Ikiro Yoshida. This is a thirteen-year journey for you, isn’t it?
Because how did that first SCW run in 2008 go, Holly? How did you fare with the expectations of SCW? Selena shrugs her shoulders.
For what? Three or four years, you tried to measure up and you came close! You were number one contender to Syren’s women’s championship in 2010, right? But, you can’t really say that your first run in SCW was a success-story was it? Not compared to someone like Alistaire Allocco, right? Or Syren? Or me. she adjusts the world title on her shoulder.
And you don’t really talk about it, Holly, and I think I know why. I think I’ve figured it out!
See, you came to SCW off of making a big splash in Majestic and other smaller places, thinking the world was yours… and you pretty much crashed and burned in SCW. You crashed and burned so hard that you took off back to the indies and it took you seven long years to even consider wrestling inside this ring again. the Snow Queen gestures to the ring she stands in.
And while you now say that you’re ‘better than ever’, while you say that you’re ‘the greatest thing in SCW’, ‘the favourite’, I think that fear of ‘crashing and burning’ is still there in the back of your mind. I think that fear has been plaguing you for eight long years. That fear of not being good enough, of being found out that, maybe, you’re not as talented as you like to boast you are.
Her eyes do not leave the camera, the young world champion speaking slowly, analytically. And I think, because of that fear, you overcompensate. I think that fear of crashing and burning – of achieving so little like your first run – is why you grab titles and say “you’ve held them”. Why you dragged around a false accolade like being a Supreme Champion for months and months. Why you hid behind other people’s accomplishments and other people’s talents rather than relying on your own. Because you’re afraid. You’re afraid that if you try – genuinely try – and be as good as you say you are, you’ll crash and burn again.
I know what I’m talking about because, when I started? I was afraid too. I was afraid that I would crash and burn too. Hey, I LOST my first match, the End of the Year Battle Royale – being the last person eliminated. I was so scared that I had spent my last penny getting here only to fail – I thought I’d be homeless, that I’d die in the streets of Ottawa because of a gamble.
And when I was offered a short-term, trial contract, I, also over compensated. I blamed things like ‘protective clothing’ my opponents wore, I used over-the-top poetry to try and get noticed, I was fighting for my very survival in this business. So I get it, Holly. The fear of failing, of crashing, is SO real! Reaching up, Selena massages her forehead before turning back to the camera.
I mean, look at you, Holly! Do you even WATCH the show that you’re part of? I did. I sat down and forced my way through the latest episode. The one where your biggest concern isn’t me or the world title or the opportunity of a lifetime, but whether or not your boyfriend will like you even though you’ve got a scar or two…
Are you kidding me?! Selena shakes her head. Holly! That is the definition of shallow and superficial! That is what you want to be about? Where a little nose surgery is life threatening? Where a scar from work is a ‘deformity’ rather than a badge of honor? Your very world is all about overcompensating! And the saddest thing about it all, Holly, is that you don’t need it!
You’ve proven it, Holly! You won TLC at Rise to Greatness, you beat Syren in the ring, you’ve held a championship, legitimately. Holly Adams doesn’t NEED to overcompensate with Twitter bullying and false claims because you are good enough. Yeah, you’re hearing that from me, Holly, so I’ll say it again so you can make sure you’re not hearing things.
You are good enough. You are good enough that I know I am going to have my hands full tonight. I know I am going to have to be on my A game tonight. But the sad thing is, I also know that, while this should be about me and you, it’s not going to be. While this should be about Selena Frost vs. Holly Adams, I’m already expecting four or five other people to make their presence known to help you out. And the sad thing is… you don’t need them, Holly. You don’t! she gives another shrug.
Holly! You would get so much more accolades, so many more title opportunities, you could do what I’ve done and prove that the best is not behind you but it’s ahead of you! You could be something amazing, Holly, if you just shut the hell up and did the work!
If you did the work, Holly, you wouldn’t need to lie about being a supreme championship by ‘touching belts’. You’d BE a supreme champion because you won them all. You wouldn’t need to pay people to believe in you or pretend to, you’d have people believing in you because you were that good. You wouldn’t need to make buttons or posters screaming “VOTE FOR ME!” and post them twenty or thirty times on Twitter, Holly… your abilities would do all the talking for you.
Taking a moment, Selena turns to walk around the inside of the ring, the belt still resting on her shoulder.
And see, that’s the difference between you and me, Holly. I didn’t use posters or buttons or ultimatums or bullying tweets against every other person that spoke about the EOY vote. I was picked in 2016 because I spent the year beating the very best there was. Syren, Ravyn, Kennedy, Kelcey, Regan, my abilities were my selling point and people BELIEVED in that and believed in me. That’s the difference between you and me, Holly. You TELL them to vote for you. I SHOW them why they should vote for me.
Stopping near the middle, Selena’s gaze is towards the stage at the top of the ramp. But last Breakdown, Holly, even though I can understand the fear and your need for overcompensating, you crossed a line.
You stood on that stage, looked at me and said I would not be able to counter your heart.
Biting the inside of her cheek, the Snow Queen takes a deep breath in and out using her nose before she speaks, her tone slow and growing cold. And in that moment, Holly, all of my pity for you – all the understanding I could have had for you during this match? It went out the goddamn window. Because now, you’re not just mocking my name or my catchphrase. You’re not just making some lame insult about my marriage that Deanna and I can just ignore because it’s beyond stupid. You’re not just using insults that were old eight years ago.
You’re mocking and disrespecting that very thing that makes me me! her free hand pounds against her chest before she lowers it back to her side.
I’ve never claimed to be the strongest. I’ve never claimed to be the smartest. Never claimed to be the fastest or the most technically gifted or the most gorgeous, or the sexiest – none of that! But what gives me a chance in this world of SCW, what gives me a chance to be the best there is in SCW has always been my heart. My refusal to stay down. My need to keep fighting until there is nothing left of me.
You want to talk about scars, Holly? I could show you the ones lining my sides like spiderwebs. I could tell you about the hundreds of stitches I’ve had in my forehead over the last eight years from monitors, chairs and belts being smashed into it. I could tell you about fighting in an ironwoman match for an hour with a smashed up foot that a crate was dropped on to give the match of the year. I could talk to you about falling twenty feet from a scaffold and showing up the next episode of Breakdown, even though it hurt like hell!
Facing the camera, Selena shakes her head. While all it took was one chamber match and a broken nose to take you out of action for weeks, I have survived eight years without a break – eight years of practically every kind of hellish match SCW can contrive – because of my heart! The scars I wear, the badges of honor, are the proof.
Because that’s how I am, Holly. I don’t hide the wounds of war. I wear them proudly because it means I survived. It means my ideals are still alive. It means what I believe in still exists!
And if you had half the heart that I have, Holly, hell if you had ANY heart at all, you wouldn’t have screwed Suited and Booted out of that match at Retribution. If you had any heart, Holly, it would have been you running backstage, protecting Cid Turner from the Jackals and Brittany Lohan and everyone else, just to ensure the world title match coming up would remain fair.
If you had any heart, Holly, you wouldn’t have whined about being in a chamber match – you would have been the one to suggest it in the first place! If you had any heart, Holy, you wouldn’t have had your Real Housewives Crew try and distract Cannon and Syren at Under Attack. You wouldn’t have set up a paid hand to screw me out of my match with Giovanni.
Letting her words settle for a second, Selena shakes her head. Holly, if you had any heart at all, then my words of ‘integrity’, ‘hope’ and a ‘standard for SCW’ would truly mean something to you.
But instead, you hide behind an Ipad and a green screen. You hide behind your crew and your Brand members. You hide behind your photoshop and your computer screen as the resident Twitter troll.
A sad smile comes to the young woman’s features as she looks away for a second before turning back to the camera, shaking her head to her target. Holly, at the end of the day, while you can claim it all you want behind your computer or up on a stage, you are too afraid to have any heart in this business.
You’re too afraid to take those risks. To take those chances. To stand up to things that terrify you and keep on fighting. And you think you can take me on and beat me because you have more heart than I do?
Holly, that is a condition that you cannot win, regardless of your talents. That is a condition where punishment is the evaluator. Which means it doesn’t matter if you’ve got more years on me or more friends or more distractions. What you aren’t is tougher than me.
And at the end of the day, Holly, at the end of this year, I am going to prove that to you. I am going to teach you the true definition of what ‘having heart’ in SCW truly means. Because I don’t plan to be hiding behind an Ipad or in my changeroom or behind a computer or a poor excuse of a reality show when contenders like Xander Valentine and Glory Braddock come calling. she makes her way to the middle of the ring.
I plan to stand before them all as I will after I outlast your poor excuse for ‘heart’. In this ring, ready to take them on in the new year. With my heart full of belief and love for SCW and my hand still holding MY SCW World Championship!
Believe it! Slowly, as before, Selena lifts the world championship over her head, the picture that has defied The Brand’s promises at every turn and, if Selena’s heart is right… will defy them all tonight as the new year rolls in![/i]
Project: Black Ice
”Saints Out of Sinners”
Nome Community Cemetery
Nome, Alaska
December 25th, 2021
10:13am
“We are here today to pay our tribute and our respect to a man of God, our brother, Malcolm…”
The strong winds blowing along the large field of snow could almost drown out the minister’s words as he stood near the large tombstone of black, his robed shoulders standing at the stone’s fullest height. “…and have loved him as a friend. To know Malcolm was to love him!”
Selena preferred the sounds of the winter storm, her eyes fluttering closed as she stood amongst the crowd, feeling the cold wind push her front and back, her legs keeping her rooted into the snowy earth. When she opened her eyes again, she could see the multitudes of snowflakes dancing across the skies and everywhere in-between. She could see the numerous people of the small group that had gathered for the service standing behind her – oh, because she had been ‘invited’ by the family of the Scythe, she and her family were standing front and center, meaning so many eyes were on them – she almost rolled her eyes and growled at that, lowering her head to seem as if she was collecting herself.
Instead, sapphire eyes sought out the sight of her children, who stood just to her right. Much like her, the children had dressed for warmth amidst the cold than for a memorial service. All three of the children wore dark-colored, thick long coats with mittens/gloves and hats and durable, thick, insulated boots. Maybe it wasn’t as formal as the black longcoat and matching black suit and tie that Selena wore under said coat, but there was no way she was going to risk her children catching a cold because of one bitter man.
“Finally, we are here today to seek and to receive comfort. We would be less than honest if we said that our hearts have not ached over this situation. We are not too proud to acknowledge that we have come here today trusting that God would minister to our hearts, and give us strength as we continue in our walk with Him…” the minister’s words droned on and on and Selena spied her son, David’s, eyes opening and closing as he seemed to be nodding off, his balance teetering left and right between Selena and his sister, Elsianna. Quietly, Selena reached out a pale hand to rub his back, trying to get silently get him to hold on a little bit longer, her focus shifting over to her other children as well, Elsianna quietly fretting over holding her little sister, Amiliah, ensuring the youngest was being kept warm under these – not so much harsh, but unfavourable – conditions.
Her heart went out to them. The poor dears, having all decided to accompany the Snow Queen to this memorial service of the late former mayor of Nome, had had little time to savour Christmas and present-opening. Not only had Ryan Scythe chosen an ungodly day for this service, he had chosen the time for it to be earlier in the morning! The result had been Selena waking the children up at six in the morning to open presents – the three of them barely away and sleepily wiping crust out of their eyes as they tore open boxes to find their gifts. Even Deanna had been yawning all morning during their Christmas times, though she had been more insistent on the early wakeup call than Selena had.
At the thought of her beloved wife, Selena’s eyes drifted past her children, a little further down, to where her significant other stood. Like Selena, Deanna was combating the weather by wearing a thick, charcoal black coat. Unlike the older Frost, however, the redhead had opted for an inclined button side contrast maxi dress, the light-beige button and slit amongst the black standing out a little as the wind blew the skirt against Deanna’s legs, much like it blew the red strands of hair around her head.
Deanna… Selena’s eyes settled on her for a moment, the minister’s words reaching her over the passing wind.
“It is our human nature to want to understand everything now, but TRUST requires that we lean and rely heavily on God even when things seem unclear. Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
Not understanding had been something Selena had settled on for only a short time with her darling. She had replayed their minor confrontation that had happened a few days ago back in Manhattan over and over again – recalling her wife’s tears, her refusal to explain and her shoving Selena, even if only a little.
Selena had refused to pry. She had no right to. How many things had she hidden from Deanna over the years? How many times had she chosen silence over simple communication despite her wife’s pleas?
Out of the corner of her eye, Selena watched her wife remain focused on the service to the late Malcolm. Since their tense moment back home, Deanna had returned, mostly, to being the woman that Selena knew. She was focused on being there for the platinum-blonde and their children, tucking what was bothering her away, it would seem, to deal with later. So like her… Selena thought with a quiet exhale, her breath instantly transforming into midst that rode the air. Always putting family first…
It was why she had been grateful to fate for giving her an answer without Deanna knowing – the Snow Queen’s mind quietly shifting to the folded piece of paper she had found under the bed that day after her wife had left the bedroom in Manhattan to help the children pack. For a split second, and for the umpteenth time, the young Frost threw a silent prayer to Odin - please let it be in Ottawa when we arrive…for Deanna…
“Philippians 4:7!” proclaimed the minister, unaware of the mental exercise the platinum-blonde was going through, his voice ringing louder as the wind picked up for a moment. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!”
The turnout for the funeral had not been the largest Selena had attended in the past – certainly larger than her stepmother, Anastasia’s, or the one she had held for her father when she had been 11, unaware that the man was actually still alive, but the moderate size of the crowd didn’t surprise her. Who were her father and step-mother? Who was she? Nobodies. Low-class citizens, at the time, that nobody would miss. And she, the “crazy miner’s daughter”, “The Snow Queen”…
Her eyes swept over the tombstone that had Malcolm’s name etched into it, along with his date of birth and date of death. Little else had been placed there due to the strong winds and winter weather, not even a picture.
Not that she would ever forget that man’s face – one that could pop up at any time in her mind to mock her.
Another slow exhale provided another strip of mist in the area. She could see the Scythe family standing a bit to the left, Talia standing the closest, followed by Gavin and Ryan. They all wore thick coats, but Ryan had, surprise surprise, chosen a dark purple.
“Ashes to ashes…” read the minister, re-earning Selena’s attention. “Dust to dust. Amen…”
“Amen.” Replied the group, except for Selena. The masses were ‘praying’ to a god that she didn’t believe in in the same way that they did, so she remained silent, casting her gaze down to her hands. She was surprised when she saw the small hand reach up to take one of hers. Following the tiny appendage, Selena’s eyes met those of her little son, David looking up with her, his expression so drowsy.
“Is it over?” he whispered, rubbing one eye with the palm of his free hand.
The poor boy… The Snow Queen smiled sadly, giving his hand a squeeze. “Almost.” She whispered to him.
“I’m tired.” Came the quiet whine.
“I know, and you’re being so good.” Selena whispered back. “Can you just hold out a little longer?” she asked, keeping her voice low so as not to draw too much attention.
David gave a quiet nod before his head turned, his attention taken by someone. Turning her head, Selena followed her son’s line of vision as she saw the walking purple-coat stroll to where the minister had been standing next to Malcolm’s tombstone.
Oh great… the wrestler’s mind growled as Ryan adjusted his coat and observed the crowd, actually giving a smile to all of them! As if he was enjoying this kind of attention being on him. Of course, the expression was fleeting, lasting only a second before become somber again, but Selena had caught it, her eyes locked on her former fiancé as he took a deep breath to speak.
“The author Frank Clark wrote, ‘A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be.’” He let that statement hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “My father was the best man I knew. Even so, he expected us, his sons, to be better. He did this by holding us accountable for our actions.”
Despite herself, Selena actually found herself agreeing with that statement. Hell, she had witnessed it over and over again. It was perhaps one of the few traits Malcolm had possessed that she respected. Accountability. It was something that the former mayor had believed in more than anything. When Selena had bested him in their way, thanks to her stepmother, he had backed down and accepted defeat, honoring their deal in the years that followed. When Talia had failed in her mission to ‘dethrone’ Selena and take her crown as ‘The Snow Queen’, it had been Malcolm that had forced her to honor her deal with Selena and exiled her to Germany until they had freed Deanna from Frankfurt Prison III. And at the Serpentine Springs, Ryan had alluded to Malcolm’s demands that he stay away from Elsianna and David despite the former being the biological father-
For a brief second, Selena spied Ryan’s eyes settling on her and her unaware children. It was less than a second, if she were honest, but the look had gripped her spine with a sense of dread – Ryan’s threats back at the springs echoing in her ears. Threats of coming after the children and finish what he and Malcolm had started years ago now that Malcolm was ‘out of the way’. Still, the eldest Scythe’s gaze did not linger, shifting to engage the crowd that watched him as he continued his own eulogy.
"If Gavin and I weren’t living up to his expectations, he was sure to let us know. But he was never unkind about it. He showed us that real men needed to be compassionate as well as strong…” he paused for effect – He’d be decent at cutting promos. Selena thought, remarking on the man’s ability to use speech and emotion to get the desired effect, which in this case seemed to be sympathy and attention from the mourning crowd.
“I’ll never be able to express how grateful I am for the way he raised us. But I will continue to always try to exceed his expectations about who I could be.” Ryan vowed, casting a glance at the tombstone for a moment before returning his attention to the crowd. “I think… I think he would want to hear this now…” he started, immediately putting Selena’s senses on alert. What was Ryan planning?
“Because as much as he loved his sons, my father loved this town – this corner of the world. He loved Nome. He loved its people, every single one.” Again, his eyes settled on Selena before, again, stealing a glance to every other Frost family member. For a moment, Selena wished that Jean Black and Zoe Evers were here, but they had purposefully not been invited – perhaps by Ryan to leave the Frost family without support.
“And in this time of mourning and sadness…” Ryan continued. “We must be reminded of the season – the season of peace and kindness. Of hope.” For a second, Selena felt a strong sense of déjà vu, being reminded of The Brand, especially Cid Turner and Holly Adams. To say that she had thought of nothing else in the days that had built to this service would be untrue. Still, with her title defence looming closer and closer, The Brand had been living in Selena’s head, at least part of it, rent-free since the last episode of Breakdown.
Holly had a win over her.
Giovanni had a win over her.
And while she had survived her war with Cid Turner, emerging as the world champion, those two statements still haunted her. Did she believe what Holly had been saying? No. She knew, one on one, she could beat Holly. She knew, one on one, she could beat Giovanni – she had in the past.
The problem lay in the fact that, much like the Scythe family, The Brand had rarely fought one on one. Even her matches with Cid Turner – if interference was allowed, it was always attempted. She had been fortunate that both her match with Cid at Taking Hold of the Flame and again in New York had been made where ‘interference was prohibited’ but she didn’t have that this time with Holly. And, unlike Jordan Majors, she didn’t have a cage to keep Holly locked in and The Brand out.
Distraction and ambushes. It was a sound strategy and it had proven to work… and it was what Selena was expecting for the same reason she was dreading it.
Because she had no answer for it, aside for Deanna. Unlike the Brand and unlike the Scythes, she was one person – two if including Deanna. Her enemies were a faction, a stable, a group of individuals with no moral compass or rationale for fairness. All that mattered was getting whatever they desired.
Ryan Scythe wanted revenge or some kind of suffering on Selena.
Holly Adams wanted the SCW World title back and for Selena to suffer.
And then there was the wildcard of Killjoy-
Bitterly, Selena shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts and refocus, using her hand to swipe at the snowflakes that had settled in her hair, small clumps of the white powder falling off her and landing on the ground. Her senses, dulled by her musings, sharpened and refocused back to the present, taking Ryan - Is he still talking?! Selena mentally whined. Gods, even I’m going to fall asleep as this rate.
“…and a message of hope and faith is what is needed!” Ryan stated, unaware Selena had been ignoring him for a few seconds. “So, it is with a heart filled with mourning, yet filled with love for my father and a love I shared with him for Nome and its people that I honor him and this season by announcing my candidacy to run for mayor of Nome.”
The crowd seemed silent for a moment – Selena, however, was stunned. Is he serious? she thought. He’s doing this now?!
The utter tastelessness was not lost on her, but she was far too stunned by the brazen nature of the statement to say anything. In truth, it was the ultimate ‘Scythe’ thing to do, taking advantage of a situation to better one’s own standing. Hadn’t Malcolm done the same thing in eliminating her father? Hadn’t Talia done it in blackmailing Selena to re-enter “the Snow Queen pageant” against her? In a way, Selena knew she shouldn’t have been surprised by Ryan doing what Scythes had done before him, and yet…
It’s still so wrong…
A slow applause started in the back and grew to a respectful volume, the group, perhaps out of respect, responding positively to the announcement. Despite their clapping, Ryan’s focus resettled back on Selena. In a quick decision, not wanting to give him any ammunition to use against her in that moment, Selena lifted her hands to offer a stern clap of her own, a fraction slower than the others. Out of the corner of her way, she spied Deanna adopting a similar clap, as did Elsianna. David, thinking the funeral was over, however, and still drowsy, snapped fully awake and began clapping madly.
“Wooo!” the boy cried. “Go grandpa!”
The remark was drowned mostly by the wind, but the few people that heard in the front, including Selena, could not help but laugh at the poor boy’s state – not at him, but rather in understanding. With a pale hand, Selena ruffled David’s hair, casting a satisfied smirk at Ryan for the break in his diatribe.
The purple-suited man’s eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly. Yet, as the applause died back down, that smirk returned to his features, returning Selena’s feelings of uneasiness.
“Now…” he held up a hand to further instill silence within the crowd. “I’d like to turn the floor over to someone very close to my father. So much so that she travelled from New York just to be here-“
Oh no… Selena’s eyes went wide, her brain connecting the dots a fraction too late.
“Selena Frost.” Ryan gestured a hand towards Selena, the Snow Queen looking less queenly and more like a dear in headlights!
It suddenly made sense! The invitation, pushing her to stand at the front of the line as a ‘guest’… it was for this moment! She could see the smug smile hidden behind the ‘mourning features’ of Ryan. He had planned this! He had, effectively, put Selena on the spot. If she refused, she’d be the enemy of the people while endearing Ryan to them. But the only alternative would be to praise Malcolm!
And Ryan knows full well I would never do that after all that bastard has done! Selena’s mind raged. There was no other way to look at this but the obvious – she was trapped! Either hatred by the people of Nome, again, or submission and eating crow in praising a man she had despised for so many years!
I’m trapped… her brain whispered multiple times in the span of a second.
“Selena?” Ryan called knowingly, beckoning the wrestler to approach Malcolm’s tombstone.
A few shaky breaths spilled out of Selena, her eyes jerking to the left side where she spied the stunned and confused expressions of Talia and Gavin, the pair looking at her with as much uncertainty as she, but also a sense of sadness, the pair connecting the dots of this as well as Selena had.
“I…” Selena whispered but stopped as she suddenly felt a warm hand in hers. Turning her head, she saw Deanna standing beside her. She felt the eyes of the crowd on her suddenly disappear, or rather, the weight of it no longer affected her. Just the emerald eyes boring into hers as Deanna leaned forward to, in a comforting way, kiss Selena’s cheek. The intention, Selena realized, however, were the two words the echoed only into her ear from her wife.
“Royal Letter.”
Sapphire eyes widened at the sudden realization of what Deanna was implying. The worries melted off her and a smile came to Selena’s face. Carefully, she took the few steps necessary to approach the black tombstone, her hand reaching out to touch it, feeling the cold stone against her skin before turning back to the crowd.
Royal letter… her mind echoed as she took in a deep breath, feeling the wrestler part of her slide into place.
“Thank you, Ryan.” She said loudly as the elder Scythe retreated back to his spot in the crowd, his face not betraying an inch of the smugness he must have felt seeing her up there. “Thank you for that moving message. I mean, I was going to announce MY candidacy for mayor of Nome, but darn it, you beat me to it!”
A slight laugh came from the crowd, moreso from Deanna, who bit her lower lip to control herself a bit better. This was a memorial service after all.
Casting a glance at the tombstone again, specifically the name etched into it, Selena released a sigh. “I think Malcolm would have wanted us to laugh a little here rather than grieve. I mean, it’s Christmas day, and has there ever been a day in Nome where it wasn’t somewhere between ‘Holy cats it’s cold’ and ‘A second Ice-Age’?” she couldn’t help the smile that came to her face. “No… Malcolm knew that there was always a time to grieve and a time to laugh. There was a place for everything. Even someone like me…”
She turned her gaze to the crowd, recognizing a few of the faces of the Nome citizens. “Some of you know me. You know the kind of person I was. My father. The gold mine.” She shrugged. “We never really got along, I know. And I won’t be saying anything about that – the past is just that. The past.”
She bit her lower lip. “But I was a nobody. ‘The crazy miner’s daughter’. Somebody with no real significance – my family, me – that’s how I felt. Malcolm…” she cast a glance back to the name on the stone before returning it to the group. “Malcolm never felt that way. You know, for all he did, all he thought – he still had a place for someone like me. A nobody. Someone like me still had a part to play in his world…”
Reaching up a pale hand, the platinum-blonde scratched the back of her scalp, taking comfort in the sharp feeling of her nails against her skin.
“And I won’t say there were bad times between us. Every relationship has them. Moments where we disagreed, where we fought-“ her eyes caught the smirk, slight as it was, on Ryan’s face, the man believing this was where things fell apart.
Conceal… Selena’s mind whispered. Don’t feel.
“But…” she breathed. “In a way, that was Malcolm always trying to make me better. Make me fulfill whatever expectations he had for me – just like he did for his sons.” Her eyes moved down to the snow just in front of her. “Malcolm lived in a world that few of us have ever had to worry about in the small town of Nome. The world of politicians. A world of manipulations, of lies and half-truths, of backroom deals and betrayals. I’m sure we’ve all watched the news…”
“And while he tried to spare this town the dreads of that world, he still had to live by a rather ruthless manner to achieve what he could for Nome, its people, and for his family. And…” Selena shrugged her shoulders, finding the words easier to say than she imagined. “In a way… he taught me to never stop fighting.”
Lifting her gaze, the young Frost was surprised to see so many eyes on her, except they weren’t angry or condemning her for her words. They were patient, understanding, waiting for her to finish.
“Malcolm was partly the reason that I believed that I could be more than just the daughter of a miner. He made me realize that, if I fought for everything I wanted in life, I could achieve anything. And if that happened to be outside of Nome, then I needed to pursue it with all I had. He taught me that being greedy for something wasn’t always a bad thing if you believed in it enough and you used it for good.”
“I suppose, in a way…” casting one last glance towards the tombstone, Selena placed her hand back on it. “I wouldn’t be here now, where I am now, without the part that Malcolm played. And…” she took a shaky breath. “I will always be grateful to him for that. For the rest of my life… thank you.”
With a slight nod, Selena stepped away from the stone, moving a few steps back the way she had come.
A flash of light caught her eye as she moved however, drawing her head up to a spot beyond the crowd. Across the cemetery, several yards away…she spotted the biker helmet that the sunlight, temporarily breaking through the overcast clouds, had refracted off of….
And the skull artwork etched onto the helmet as it ‘stared’ over the crowd and straight at her.
No… her eyes grew wide. It can’t be…
The figure stood closer to the pavement-path that travelled throughout the cemetery for vehicles, its arms crossed as it viewed the service from a far. Seeing Selena’s eyes on him, however, he slowly turned and began walking down the path towards, disappearing from sight as several of the planted trees blocked Selena’s view of him.
Casting a quick glance at her family, she quietly rushed towards Deanna, taking her hand in hers and leaning towards her beloved as another speaker for Malcolm took her place by the tombstone to share their stories of the former mayor.
“Stay here.” She ordered. “Please.”
“Wha-“ Deanna started before she saw the look of terror in her wife’s eyes. “Is it?” her head jerked around.
To answer, Selena nodded. “The gun is in your purse.” She whispered. “Make sure he doesn’t get near our children.”
The redhead gave a slow nod. “Come back to me.” She whispered, her one hand gripping Selena’s tightly.
“I will.” Selena whispered, offering the kindest smile she could. “You still have to tell me what’s bothering you, remember?”
She didn’t let her wife reply, instead briskly moving through the crowd and across the field, passing numerous graves until she was walking the same path she had seen the skulled-being take. It wasn’t hard to follow at that point, the footsteps in the snow clear as day, even with more falling from the skies.
The wind howled as she walked across the desert of snow, whipping her hair in all directions. The crunch of the snow was suddenly louder in her ears, or was that just because of her heart beating faster and harder as she walked the path through the cemetery as it took her left and right and across the ‘field’. She knew she hadn’t been hallucinating. The footprints were proof of that! Yet, as she reached a hill and looked down it, she questioned whether it had been smart to leave her gun with Deanna…
The hill descended into a sort of valley of graves and, to the left of them stood a gray-stoned mausoleum, a sort of stone temple or church amidst a sea of the dead.
And the footprints lead right to it… Of course they did.
With a slow inhale and exhale of breath, Selena continued to walk the path, being careful not to slip or fall as she did. The valley seemed to protect her from the heavy winds as the whipping sensation around her began to die down and the snowfall began to ease. She could make out the stairs just in front of her as she reached the mausoleum and, with a few more jilted breaths, she stepped up them and pulled open the door, allowing herself access to the erected building of tombs.
Immediately, the sound of the winds and bite of the storm (what remained of it) was blocked, allowing Selena to shake off the snow on her shoulders and head. She stepped further into the room, her eyes taking in the gray stones and names that lined the walls. She could see the multitude of crypts surrounding her, but it wasn’t until she turned the corner that she spied the window against the stone wall.
He stood by it, illuminated by the clouded forecast raging outside. There was no mistaking the skull-design of the helmet he still wore – no mistaking him now.
“Came to admire your handiwork?” Selena called out, not surprised when he didn’t give any sign of surprise.
“No.” Killjoy responded. “I saw enough of it when I saw the light drain from his eyes.”
Selena’s jaw clenched. The bastard wasn’t even going to deny killing Malcolm – she even detected a hint of satisfaction in his declarations.
“I’d say you got a new head on your shoulders…” she gestured to the helmet as Killjoy turned to her. “But if you’re dumb enough to admit to murder, maybe that isn’t so.”
“And if you were going to have me arrested, you wouldn’t have come alone.” Killjoy countered. “You know the police can’t stop me anymore than you can.”
“That remains to be seen.” Selena replied. “How’s your arm doing by the way?” she gestured, pointing to the arm that Deanna had shot the last time Killjoy had made his presence known.
To answer, Killjoy held out the indicated arm. “Better than ever.” He simply replied. “Or would you like to test that right now?” he challenged with a tilt of his head.
Despite every fiber of her being wanting to rip him to shreds, the memory of their last fight played in her mind. How Killjoy had expertly evaded and blocked every attack she had made – how he had trounced her in a one-on-one fight.
Though her hands tightened into fists, she did not take a step closer to the madman, earning a small laugh from him. “Good girl.” He mocked. “You’re learning. Have you accepted that you are on borrowed time? That you exist presently simply because I wish it?”
“No.” Selena replied honestly. “I’ve accepted that, sooner or later, you’re going to make your move. And when that happens, you’re going to fail.”
“Are you so certain?” Killjoy asked, tilting his head the other way. “I’m not one of your enemies in SCW. You can’t be rid of me just by knocking me unconscious for three seconds.”
“I’m aware.” Selena replied, standing her ground.
“Then you are prepared to kill me?”
“If it comes to that.” Came Selena’s answer, crossing her arms. “I’d rather you give me some answers and we try and talk about this.”
“Talk?” laughed Killjoy, leaning up against the wall where the window was. “After what I did to Malcolm, you wish to reason with me?”
“I wish to know why you have such a hatred for us.” The platinum-blonde answered honestly. “I know you feel I robbed you of something. That you want what I have but I don’t understand why. I don’t understand what motivates you. I don’t get… I don’t get this!” she huffed.
“I admire your candor.” Killjoy remarked, his honesty surprising Selena, who gave a slight shrug.
“If you were going to kill me…” she started, paraphrasing Killjoy’s earlier words with a second shrug.
“Surely Malcolm would have told you by now – or at least given you something…” he turned his head knowingly, ‘eyes’ locked on the Snow Queen. “Of course he didn’t.” he added after a moment of silence from Selena. “Because knowing would destroy you, right? That what he said?”
“Yes.” Selena stated.
“Yet, you still wish to know?” Killjoy inquired. “Hmmm.” A laugh came from his warped voice, the same filtered tone that had filled some of Selena’s nightmares.
“I know Malcolm was a horrible person and did so much evil in Nome – maybe in the world-“
“You can’t begin to imagine what he’s done to me.” Killjoy growled, showing anger for the first time today.
“I get it!” Selena pressed. “You hate him. I suffered at his hands too – or did you leave that part out in your ‘study’ of me?”
“I’m aware of it.” Killjoy replied, calm once more. “But your suffering pales in comparison to mine. And you are as much to blame as Malcolm is for it. Unknowingly or not.”
“How is that fair?!” Selena asked. “I don’t know you. I don’t know what you went through but if you were suffering because of me, I’d have done everything in my power to fix it.”
“This is beyond fair.” Barked Killjoy. “This is justice. You are responsible, knowing or otherwise is irrelevant. You are responsible. Therefore, you will pay.”
The two stood there, staring down one another until Killjoy broke the silence. “This is not something you can change.” He stated. “You cannot turn a sinner into a saint, no matter how many times you’ve tried.”
“What are you talking about?” Selena asked.
“Regan, Kelcey, Kennedy, Anastasia, Nicodemus, even Malcolm Scythe… how many sinners have you tried to look past and see some good in them? How many of them did you give ‘second chances’ to? How many of them did you try and save? Or try to forgive?”
Selena’s mouth opened but no sound came out. She didn’t have a response for that – because it was true. Her life had been a constant flux of enemies turning friends, friends turning enemies, and then all back again and so many times, Selena had forgiven them. From Dawn Lohan to Regan Street, even the people that had almost destroyed her like her stepmother and Malcolm – Hell, she had JUST given a kind eulogy to the bastard that had tried to kidnap her own children!
“You don’t even realize how easily you forgive. How much you feel you NEED to save everyone.” Killjoy shook his head sadly. “You can’t this time around. You couldn’t save Malcolm, you can’t save me and you can’t save yourself.”
A lump formed in Selena’s throat and the Snow Queen gulped quietly, trying to force it down.
“I…” she tried. “I am still going to try.” She replied.
“I know.” Killjoy replied. “And it will cost you.”
Reaching into his pocket – causing Selena to immediately step back into a defensive position, her fists up – Killjoy held up a folded piece of paper between his two fingers.
Similar to the one I found under Deanna’s and my bed…the one of- Quickly shaking her head to stay in the present, Selena eyes Killjoy as he placed the piece of paper on the windowsill of stone, the glass of the window preventing it from being blown away by the outside storm.
“What’s that?” Selena asked, gesturing to the paper.
“Your destruction.” Killjoy replied. “The very thing Malcolm told you not to know.”
“Then what makes you think I’ll even look at it?!” Selena barked back.
“Because you won’t be able to help it.” She could almost imagine Killjoy grinning under that helmet. “Because you still think you can solve all of this. Because you can’t stand feeling so powerless in all of this. Because you’ll do anything for some semblance of control, even if you know it will destroy you…”
The skulled-madman gave a shrug. “Or not. You could prove me wrong and just walk away and wait for me to make my move. Take my advice…take Malcolm’s advice… and be happy-“
Sapphire eyes widened in alarm. “How…how do you know about that?”
The fiend gave a laugh before moving away from the window, walking past Selena and heading to the door. The Snow Queen did not move until she heard the door close, collapsing to the floor the second she did, her energy spent despite doing very little physically.
Her head turned towards the door, Killjoy long gone but it was like she could still see him. “My destruction…” she whispered, turning her head back towards the windowsill where the folded piece of paper lay. How long she stayed there, on the floor of the mausoleum, she wasn’t sure, the only sound filling her ears was the storm that kept coming and going outside within and around the valley.
Slowly, Selena pushed herself to her feet, her eyes still on that window. Don’t do it… her mind warned. There’s a reason Malcolm, of all people warned you not to. There’s a reason Killjoy wants you to know…
She wanted to turn away. To leave that paper and all its contents to rot with corpses in this ‘fancy tomb’.
But Killjoy was right – and he knew it… She couldn’t just walk away. She couldn’t let this go. She couldn’t stand to just be an ignorant participant in this war any longer.
She stepped towards the window. And again. And again. And again until she was standing in front of it. With one huff of breath, she grabbed the paper of the stone and held it in her hand, eyes squeezed shut as she tried to control her heart as it hammered with in her chest. She could almost hear Malcolm’s voice in her head.
Once you look…once you know… there will be no turning back…
“No, Malcolm…” Selena whispered as she slowly unfolded the paper. “We passed that point a long time ago.” She added with a growl as she stared at the paper. There, scribbled in pen were three words that Selena would soon wish she had never heard strung together…
Project: Black Ice
*****************************************************************
[/i]
The camera opens up to reveal the interior of the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa, Canada! It is the site of the final show 2021 show of SCW – the End of the Year Special! The arena is mostly empty at the moment, though the setup for the event has concluded. The only person seen is the young woman standing in the ring. She is dressed in a dark purple version of her wrestling attire, with the large snowflakes on her shoulders a contrasting white. Her platinum-blonde hair, iconic in its color, makes it beyond clear this woman’s identity as she looks around the arena, reflectively.
Eight years ago… her voice is soft but it clear as the camera focuses on her. It was eight years ago, at this very event, that a young nobody from Nome, Alaska, scrimped up what little savings she had, hopped on a plane, and flew to the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa, Canada, for a shot – one in a million – to change her life.
Her sapphire eyes continue to take in the empty arena, which would, in a matter of hours, be filled with eager members of the SCW Universe. It was five years ago that that same nobody, at the very event she took that risk, became the SCW World champion!
Turning her gaze to one of the farther turnbuckles, the woman spies the leather and gold title sitting elegantly on the top turnbuckle. Carefully, she reaches out to take it, placing it over her shoulder and returning her gaze to her audience.
And tonight, that same person – surviving eight years in this business – will defend the SCW World championship in the main-event in the very arena she made her debut!
Allowing a moment to let the history of this place sink in, Selena Frost offers a kind, happy smile. I mean…what more could I ask for? I feel like I have come full circle. For so many years, at least as a singles wrestler, I was defined by one particular time. “The Year of Selena Frost”. Considered to be a famous moment, but to me, it was infamous. It was a year that was above and beyond what anyone expected from me – what I thought I was capable of. A year where I won not only the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament, but also the Best of the Best Tournament and became the SCW World Champion.
The Snow Queen tilts her head for a moment, as if recalling that year. It was a year the cemented my legitimacy in this business, cemented my place as a top-tier fighter in SCW. But it was also a year that the world believed I could never duplicate. A year I could never achieve again…
And when I came back into the world title picture after my sister, Regan, was injured at the start of this year, that was the first fear that I had in my head. “How can I possibly reach that level again? How can I possibly be ‘that good’ again?”. I mean, how many people win the lottery twice? How many people get a second jackpot in their life? How many people win more than one Oscar? How many people get to go into the Hall of Fame more than once? How many people get a second chance to do something so incredible?
Looking down, a smile forms again and she slowly shakes her head. But I had to try. I had to at least try to do it, because if I didn’t, if I just accepted that the best was behind me, then I would not only be failing all of you, I’d not only be disrespecting SCW, I’d be abandoning everything that I believed in. The idea that hard work and patience and passion and never giving up – it all pays off! That anything is possible if you believe and are willing to stand by your morals of integrity and if you have the [i]heart to get through it. her free hand settles over her heart for a second before it lowers back down, the world champion raising that arm as a gesture to the side.
Now? Here I stand – the longest World title reign this year. The only person to have defeated Cid Turner twice in this ring, main-evented Rise to Greatness and won “The Unbelievable Main Event”, winning the world title in my home of New York… maybe all of that isn’t ‘as big’ to some people compared to 2016, but to me? It is so much more. It is so much more to have proven, after five long years, that while 2016 will always be part of my history, it does not, nor will EVER, define me! her voice stressed that word on emphasis.
No year, past, present or future will ever do that again. Because guess what? I’m going try to make 2022 better than this one. Same with 2023 and 2024 and 2025 and 2026 until I can’t do this anymore, THAT will be my purpose! Making the next year better than the last. For me. For SCW. For each and every one of you! she looks around the ring before returning her gaze back to the camera, giving a small shrug.
But that’s 2022… I’ve still got one more match left to head off 2021. she holds up one finger to indicate the number.
And if you heard me in my Royal Letter, you all know how much I am looking forward to it! I want nothing more than to kick Holly Adams’ head off. And the reasons? I mean, do I need any more? You’ve got scandals, lies, disrespecting titles, putting your hands on my wife, bullying on Twitter, hiding behind injuries, mocking the company, mocking legends like Regan Street and Syren – I could probably write a four-hour lecture just on the reasons why Holly Adams deserves the beating of the year – hell, the beating of a LIFETIME!
Instead of carrying on with her enthusiasm, the young woman holds up a hand for a second, to calm her audience. But the thing is…this isn’t just ‘match number two’ between Holly and I. It isn’t. This is match number eight or nine of ‘Selena Frost vs. The Brand’. Think about it, all the fights I’ve had with Asher Hayes, with Cid Turner, with Giovanni Aries, and with Holly Adams – 2021, I have been neck-deep in a war with not just one of you, but all of you – all of The Brand.
And…maybe with this being about ‘reflection’ as the End of the Year event often invites, I’ve had the chance to see it as that. And it’s allowed me to take a look at you, Holly, and understand you just a little bit better.
With her free hand, she scratches her head. See, like I told you, Holly, I wondered where you’d be if you hadn’t hitched your wagon to A/C Unit or Aries or Infamous. I wondered if you’d actually make it as you have or would you just crash and burn…
And from that, I realized…that’s something you don’t really like talking about, do you?
Because you’re not some person that came to SCW, struck it big, and then was handed this match within their first few years of her career, are you? No, you were here before, weren’t you? You were here before I was. Back in 2008, right? In the days of Greg Cherry, Lenne Perez, Dillusion, you were there.
See, this isn’t some ‘evolution of a rookie’ for you like it’s been in the past few years for people like Marie Jones, AJ Helms, and Ikiro Yoshida. This is a thirteen-year journey for you, isn’t it?
Because how did that first SCW run in 2008 go, Holly? How did you fare with the expectations of SCW? Selena shrugs her shoulders.
For what? Three or four years, you tried to measure up and you came close! You were number one contender to Syren’s women’s championship in 2010, right? But, you can’t really say that your first run in SCW was a success-story was it? Not compared to someone like Alistaire Allocco, right? Or Syren? Or me. she adjusts the world title on her shoulder.
And you don’t really talk about it, Holly, and I think I know why. I think I’ve figured it out!
See, you came to SCW off of making a big splash in Majestic and other smaller places, thinking the world was yours… and you pretty much crashed and burned in SCW. You crashed and burned so hard that you took off back to the indies and it took you seven long years to even consider wrestling inside this ring again. the Snow Queen gestures to the ring she stands in.
And while you now say that you’re ‘better than ever’, while you say that you’re ‘the greatest thing in SCW’, ‘the favourite’, I think that fear of ‘crashing and burning’ is still there in the back of your mind. I think that fear has been plaguing you for eight long years. That fear of not being good enough, of being found out that, maybe, you’re not as talented as you like to boast you are.
Her eyes do not leave the camera, the young world champion speaking slowly, analytically. And I think, because of that fear, you overcompensate. I think that fear of crashing and burning – of achieving so little like your first run – is why you grab titles and say “you’ve held them”. Why you dragged around a false accolade like being a Supreme Champion for months and months. Why you hid behind other people’s accomplishments and other people’s talents rather than relying on your own. Because you’re afraid. You’re afraid that if you try – genuinely try – and be as good as you say you are, you’ll crash and burn again.
I know what I’m talking about because, when I started? I was afraid too. I was afraid that I would crash and burn too. Hey, I LOST my first match, the End of the Year Battle Royale – being the last person eliminated. I was so scared that I had spent my last penny getting here only to fail – I thought I’d be homeless, that I’d die in the streets of Ottawa because of a gamble.
And when I was offered a short-term, trial contract, I, also over compensated. I blamed things like ‘protective clothing’ my opponents wore, I used over-the-top poetry to try and get noticed, I was fighting for my very survival in this business. So I get it, Holly. The fear of failing, of crashing, is SO real! Reaching up, Selena massages her forehead before turning back to the camera.
I mean, look at you, Holly! Do you even WATCH the show that you’re part of? I did. I sat down and forced my way through the latest episode. The one where your biggest concern isn’t me or the world title or the opportunity of a lifetime, but whether or not your boyfriend will like you even though you’ve got a scar or two…
Are you kidding me?! Selena shakes her head. Holly! That is the definition of shallow and superficial! That is what you want to be about? Where a little nose surgery is life threatening? Where a scar from work is a ‘deformity’ rather than a badge of honor? Your very world is all about overcompensating! And the saddest thing about it all, Holly, is that you don’t need it!
You’ve proven it, Holly! You won TLC at Rise to Greatness, you beat Syren in the ring, you’ve held a championship, legitimately. Holly Adams doesn’t NEED to overcompensate with Twitter bullying and false claims because you are good enough. Yeah, you’re hearing that from me, Holly, so I’ll say it again so you can make sure you’re not hearing things.
You are good enough. You are good enough that I know I am going to have my hands full tonight. I know I am going to have to be on my A game tonight. But the sad thing is, I also know that, while this should be about me and you, it’s not going to be. While this should be about Selena Frost vs. Holly Adams, I’m already expecting four or five other people to make their presence known to help you out. And the sad thing is… you don’t need them, Holly. You don’t! she gives another shrug.
Holly! You would get so much more accolades, so many more title opportunities, you could do what I’ve done and prove that the best is not behind you but it’s ahead of you! You could be something amazing, Holly, if you just shut the hell up and did the work!
If you did the work, Holly, you wouldn’t need to lie about being a supreme championship by ‘touching belts’. You’d BE a supreme champion because you won them all. You wouldn’t need to pay people to believe in you or pretend to, you’d have people believing in you because you were that good. You wouldn’t need to make buttons or posters screaming “VOTE FOR ME!” and post them twenty or thirty times on Twitter, Holly… your abilities would do all the talking for you.
Taking a moment, Selena turns to walk around the inside of the ring, the belt still resting on her shoulder.
And see, that’s the difference between you and me, Holly. I didn’t use posters or buttons or ultimatums or bullying tweets against every other person that spoke about the EOY vote. I was picked in 2016 because I spent the year beating the very best there was. Syren, Ravyn, Kennedy, Kelcey, Regan, my abilities were my selling point and people BELIEVED in that and believed in me. That’s the difference between you and me, Holly. You TELL them to vote for you. I SHOW them why they should vote for me.
Stopping near the middle, Selena’s gaze is towards the stage at the top of the ramp. But last Breakdown, Holly, even though I can understand the fear and your need for overcompensating, you crossed a line.
You stood on that stage, looked at me and said I would not be able to counter your heart.
Biting the inside of her cheek, the Snow Queen takes a deep breath in and out using her nose before she speaks, her tone slow and growing cold. And in that moment, Holly, all of my pity for you – all the understanding I could have had for you during this match? It went out the goddamn window. Because now, you’re not just mocking my name or my catchphrase. You’re not just making some lame insult about my marriage that Deanna and I can just ignore because it’s beyond stupid. You’re not just using insults that were old eight years ago.
You’re mocking and disrespecting that very thing that makes me me! her free hand pounds against her chest before she lowers it back to her side.
I’ve never claimed to be the strongest. I’ve never claimed to be the smartest. Never claimed to be the fastest or the most technically gifted or the most gorgeous, or the sexiest – none of that! But what gives me a chance in this world of SCW, what gives me a chance to be the best there is in SCW has always been my heart. My refusal to stay down. My need to keep fighting until there is nothing left of me.
You want to talk about scars, Holly? I could show you the ones lining my sides like spiderwebs. I could tell you about the hundreds of stitches I’ve had in my forehead over the last eight years from monitors, chairs and belts being smashed into it. I could tell you about fighting in an ironwoman match for an hour with a smashed up foot that a crate was dropped on to give the match of the year. I could talk to you about falling twenty feet from a scaffold and showing up the next episode of Breakdown, even though it hurt like hell!
Facing the camera, Selena shakes her head. While all it took was one chamber match and a broken nose to take you out of action for weeks, I have survived eight years without a break – eight years of practically every kind of hellish match SCW can contrive – because of my heart! The scars I wear, the badges of honor, are the proof.
Because that’s how I am, Holly. I don’t hide the wounds of war. I wear them proudly because it means I survived. It means my ideals are still alive. It means what I believe in still exists!
And if you had half the heart that I have, Holly, hell if you had ANY heart at all, you wouldn’t have screwed Suited and Booted out of that match at Retribution. If you had any heart, Holly, it would have been you running backstage, protecting Cid Turner from the Jackals and Brittany Lohan and everyone else, just to ensure the world title match coming up would remain fair.
If you had any heart, Holly, you wouldn’t have whined about being in a chamber match – you would have been the one to suggest it in the first place! If you had any heart, Holy, you wouldn’t have had your Real Housewives Crew try and distract Cannon and Syren at Under Attack. You wouldn’t have set up a paid hand to screw me out of my match with Giovanni.
Letting her words settle for a second, Selena shakes her head. Holly, if you had any heart at all, then my words of ‘integrity’, ‘hope’ and a ‘standard for SCW’ would truly mean something to you.
But instead, you hide behind an Ipad and a green screen. You hide behind your crew and your Brand members. You hide behind your photoshop and your computer screen as the resident Twitter troll.
A sad smile comes to the young woman’s features as she looks away for a second before turning back to the camera, shaking her head to her target. Holly, at the end of the day, while you can claim it all you want behind your computer or up on a stage, you are too afraid to have any heart in this business.
You’re too afraid to take those risks. To take those chances. To stand up to things that terrify you and keep on fighting. And you think you can take me on and beat me because you have more heart than I do?
Holly, that is a condition that you cannot win, regardless of your talents. That is a condition where punishment is the evaluator. Which means it doesn’t matter if you’ve got more years on me or more friends or more distractions. What you aren’t is tougher than me.
And at the end of the day, Holly, at the end of this year, I am going to prove that to you. I am going to teach you the true definition of what ‘having heart’ in SCW truly means. Because I don’t plan to be hiding behind an Ipad or in my changeroom or behind a computer or a poor excuse of a reality show when contenders like Xander Valentine and Glory Braddock come calling. she makes her way to the middle of the ring.
I plan to stand before them all as I will after I outlast your poor excuse for ‘heart’. In this ring, ready to take them on in the new year. With my heart full of belief and love for SCW and my hand still holding MY SCW World Championship!
Believe it! Slowly, as before, Selena lifts the world championship over her head, the picture that has defied The Brand’s promises at every turn and, if Selena’s heart is right… will defy them all tonight as the new year rolls in![/i]
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SCW Supreme Champion
6x SCW World Champion
4x SCW World Tag-Team Champion
2x SCW United States Champion
3x SCW Adrenaline Champion
SCW Television Champion
Longest Reigning SCW World Champion (234 days)
Winner of Shot of Adrenaline Tournament (2016)
Winner of Best of the Best Tournament (2016)
Winner of Trios Tournament (2018)
Winner of U.S. Championship Tournament (2020)
Winner of World Championship Tournament (2023)
Winner of Tactical Warfare (2014, 2019)
Winner of Elimination Chamber (2015, 2024)
Winner of Roofed Cage Match (2019)
Winner of Last Person Standing Match (2019)
The Unbelievable Main Event (2021-2025)
Winner of Double Jeopardy Match (2022)
Winner of EOTY Invitational (2023)
Winner of EOTY Invitational (2023)
Winner of Ironman Match (2024)
Wrestler of the Year (2016, 2021, 2022, 2024)
Tag-Team of the Year (2020 - w/ Regan Street)
Match of the Year (2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024)
Feud of the Year (2014, 2019)
Shocking Moment of the Year (2024)
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