Syren vs. Selena Frost

[SnowQueenSCW]

OOC: CD Only
 

The Dark Side of the Sun

”If I lose you…”

Frankfurt Court Center
Frankfurt, Germany
April 29th, 2021
12:23pm


The sound of the clock, the one that continuously ticked away the seconds, was loud, echoing within the medium-sized conference room. It’s tone was a mixture of sharp and dull, strange enough, that was both comforting (to know the sound would return every second without fail) and annoying, as it reminded Selena how much time had passed and would continue to pass. 

Still, she could not be mad as she leaned against the nearby wall, her eyes locking back on the young woman who sat in the chair just a few steps away from her as the woman sat close to the rather large table. They two of them had arrived early – both had insisted upon that. Half an hour early, actually, and had been ushered into the conference room, one of the many that the courthouse contained for non-trial meetings. 

From there, the pair had waited, now for the last eight minutes, for the clock to strike 12:30pm, the time of their appointment, assuming the mediator wasn’t late – or the plaintiff for that matter. 

With a quiet exhale of breath, the young platinum-blonde scanned the room once more, the same way she had when she had entered, taking in the similar details to the other conference room she had visited here practically a month ago - actually it could have been longer… she quickly thought. With a shake of her head, her sapphire eyes returned to the main focus of her attention since she had walked into the room, this time getting lost in the waves of red locks at the back of her wife’s head.

“I can literally feel your eyes on me.” Came the calm, almost teasing voice, as the seated woman turned in her chair to fully regard the taller woman standing behind her, offering the pale-skinned, arms-crossed creature a smile.

It was all Selena could do to smile gently, as sapphire eyes met emerald ones. No words needed to be said, for both knew what the other was thinking – as it was the same thing. It had taken over a month for everything to be arranged – for the lawyer of Castle to be notified and for a date to be chosen for mediation… which, Selena mentally admitted, she hadn’t really helped matters in that regard with her work schedule, but the brunt of the blame was on the lawyer of Castle, who had seemed to give excuse after excuse about needing more time to properly prepare, given his other ‘clients’.

Prepare for a mediation? Selena had shaken her head at that. It did seem odd to the Snow Queen. But she wasn’t a lawyer, and part of her had wished she had had more instruction in such matters than what Talia Scythe had simply given her. 

Immediately, her mind jumped to that of Mr. D., her on-again, off-again boss over in SCW. Now, she wasn’t certain, but she was practically sure that she had heard the SCW creator mention his past as a lawyer on some segments of Breakdown, something about some trying to ‘outsmart him’ through contractual jargon or something like that. Anyway, with the re-emergence of the true ‘boss of SCW’ on that episode of Breakdown, Selena certainly had had her chance to question him on, at least, some elements of court…. But she hadn’t.

For a moment, Selena’s eyes dulled, her mind speeding up time for herself as her thoughts raced. Truthfully, at first, she had been delighted to have Mr. D. back in SCW. He had always been a supporter of Selena’s actions and her representation of SCW, her desire to take pride in the company and what it stood for. And throughout her career, especially in the early years, he had helped the young woman on her path to achieve her goals, such as acquiring certain matches and being given a fair shake in SCW.

However, last week, when he had appeared on Breakdown, and she had seen him, it hadn’t felt the same. There wasn’t as much joy in seeing the man across the way and up the ramp. She was happy to see him healthy and well, of course, given how many brutal attacks he had suffered in the past at the hands of those like Giovanni Aries and Xander Valentine, but still… 

He hadn’t even said many words before she had gotten an idea of what he was doing and before she could blink, he had given Selena exactly what she wanted. A match against Syren at the next pay-per-view, happening this weekend.

She knew she should have given him a ‘thank you’ or something. At least show some gratitude to the man that had cut through Syren’s BS with ease. Yet, even now, a week later, Selena was still uneasy about it. She had been dismissed by Syren over and over again. Even when she beat Christy Matthews, she was ignored. When she challenged Syren to a match every week, she was ignored. Hell, even when Syren and CHBK had launched that segment a few weeks ago about “seeing how much Selena wanted this match” and putting something on the line, she hadn’t relented. She had filled out every contract Deanna had gotten for her, adding a different stipulation that favoured Syren in some way. The more they were ignored, the more ridiculous her stipulations had become…

Part of Selena chuckled at the memory of that – she had, near the end of her attempts, offered to chauffer Syren for a month in one, said something nice about her in another contract, and- she suddenly burst out laughing, her short giggle echoing in the room.

“Either you thought of something funny…” Deanna raised an eyebrow, pushing herself out of her chair to join her beloved wife at the door. “Or there is something on my face.”

“I just…” Selena paused. “I was recalling one of the ridiculous things I wrote in the contract – the ones you got me for Syren?”
“Oh, was this the one where you lend her your bus for three months?” Deanna asked. “I was REALLY nervous they’d pick that one.”
“Why?”

The redhead looked away for a moment, biting her lower lip. “Well…” she turned back to Selena. “First of all, there’s Eric. I didn’t want to have him be subjected to them. And second, well… I mean…”

Was she being shy? Selena wondered as she watched Deanna check the room to see if they truly were alone in the room. Assured that they were, the younger woman turned her head back to the older woman. 

“The idea of someone else in our bed…”

Before her, Selena saw her wife shiver in revulsion at the thought. And it wasn’t even that far of a leap in logic. Eight years she had been in SCW – or close to that – and as much of that as she could remember, there really was no depth to where Infamous – especially Ravyn and Syren – would go. And now that her wife had mentioned it, the Snow Queen could just imagine Syren having some sort of segment on Breakdown, had she won that particular condition, where she lounged around on the bed, or desecrated it in some way, either with her husband Alexander, or maybe ripping it up – regardless, she could imagine Syren doing something to just drive the point home that she had beaten Selena.

“No, it wasn’t that one.” Selena sighed, reaching up to run her wife’s arms. “I regretted writing that one as soon as I submitted it, but I was running out of ideas.”

The redhead nodded. “Thank goodness for Mr. D., huh?” 

Again, that sinking feeling in Selena’s stomach returned at the mention of her boss’ name. It wasn’t that she was ungrateful, far from it. But ever since Regan’s injury and the end of the Tag League and Frozen Hell, Selena had made a decision. She had spent over a year working with Regan, making the Hellcat’s dreams come true, to be a Supreme Champion, have a Rise to Greatness moment that would be hard to top, and also becoming a solid tag-team. Now, with Regan injured, Selena had a choice to make – to either keep going or join her sister in being away from SCW for awhile… and yet, she had been surprised to realize, despite so many obstacles the past year, that she still wanted to wrestle. She still wanted to compete. Her love for the sport hadn’t left her with Frozen Hell’s untimely demise. 

She wanted to be a singles wrestler again. 

It had certainly surprised, but with that certainty, once realized, came the understanding that she had to, basically, start from scratch. Nothing was going to be handed to her, it seemed, regardless of her past accolades. She would have to start from the bottom and work her way up to the top of the ladder, beating everyone that faced her, or as many as she could, to re-establish herself from tag-team wrestler back to main-event singles superstar. 

It was why she had been so eager to fight Syren in that one-on-one match on that episode of Breakdown. Without a title to distract her and all the pressure that came with it, such as what came when she dove at the chance when she was picked for that Trios cluster-match that Ace Marshall had contrived, she had wanted to test herself against someone that, supposedly, was always in consideration for the world title. And when that match had been tainted for her at the hands of CHBK, the Snow Queen had then been inspired to keep pushing, keep fighting for Regan, David, but now, also, for herself. And with each week of being denied, she had felt even more drive to make the match happen.

But with Mr. D. interfering and simply handing it to her? It was strange but… she felt cheated. She felt like she hadn’t earned it. She felt like, for a moment, the possibility of that ever present line in every promo she heard from those like Bree Lancaster, Sienna Swann, and ESPECIALLY members of Infamous. Remarks of her being ‘handed everything’…

The boss of SCW had, slightly, proven an element of that to be true, at least in terms of getting this match with Syren.

True, there was no ridiculous gimmick or stipulation added that Syren needed to have just to make an effort, but…

For a brief moment, Selena’s mind played through the possibility. Syren had never wanted to face her. Whether that was because she was deemed ‘unworthy’ in the eyes of Syren, as the former mult-time world champion had declared, or because maybe Infamous didn’t want to risk the idea of losing to Selena, the Snow Queen had enjoyed getting Infamous’ attention every week. She had enjoyed pushing them with defeating Christy Matthews, standing up to CHBK, and refusing to back down when Syren and all of Infamous tried to gang up on her so many times. She enjoyed being a thorn in their sides. If she had been allowed to continue that, to push until Syren had no choice but to face her, then beat her…

Selena shook her head. She couldn’t think on such things. To dwell on what-ifs. Hell, if she was going to go that: if she had won the World title gauntlet match that had occurred, Syren would have been begging to fight her. What-ifs had no place here. She was facing Syren now, for sure. How it been done couldn’t be dwelled on. Instead, Selena had just a few more days to ensure that she was ready to fight the woman and, probably, the rest of Infamous, regardless of Mr. D.’s warning.

“Hey…” the gentle voice of Deanna broke through Selena’s storm of thoughts, pulling the platinum-blonde back to the present. 
“Sorry.” She smiled again. “What were you saying?”
“I was saying, ‘thank goodness Mr. D. appeared and gave you the match with Syren.”

“Yeah…” Selena sighed. “But I’m wondering if I’m going to have to pay for it later.”
“What do you mean?” Deanna asked.
“Is this really the right time to be talking about work?” Selena asked. “I mean…given where we are?”

For a moment, Deanna turned to look into a section of the room, the Frost wives still very much alone within the conference room. 

“I sort of would like the distraction.” The redhead quietly admitted.

The answer somewhat surprised Selena. “Are you nervous?” she asked, removing herself from the wall. She felt the heels she wore supporting her feet, and the black pants brush against her calves as she moved. Without needing an answer, she gently wrapped her arms around her wife’s small frame.

“It's okay.” she whispered. “We have him.” She added, giving the embrace a bit more of a squeeze. She felt Deanna’s hands, only slightly smaller than hers, but not as slender, press into her chest.

“I know.” Whispered Deanna. “But what if it doesn’t…” she took the moment to lift her head from its place on Selena’s collarbone to gaze into her eyes. “What if this judge is the same as the first one? What if they don’t want to go through another trial… what if…” her voice hitched, allowing Selena to see a change in her wife she had not seen all day. She felt her wife’s hands shake against her chest and, within her eyes, Selena saw tears threatening to form.

“What if they take me from you again?” 

The question was barely a whisper, yet it echoed withing Selena’s mind like a bad memory, carrying with it more weight straight to Selena’s heart than Syren screaming insults at her.

It had been over a month since Deanna had appeared in Selena’s bus the night before Retribution, with words like ‘freedom’ and ‘together’ singing from her lips. From that moment, whether it was work in SCW or travelling to Germany to be with family, Deanna was always by her wife’s side, making use of every moment together. She had watched with pride in the first match she had as Selena’s manager once more, that being the most recent against Christy Matthews.

“Holding your hand… raising your arm…” she whispered, having all of Selena’s attention. “I was so proud of you but also…so….”
“So what?” Selena asked, gently prompting her wife to find the right words.
“So in love.” Deanna admitted. “And so certain that I couldn’t go back to Prison III. I…I can’t…”

In many ways, Selena could not relate to her wife’s pain. She had not been locked in a cell, forced into certain kinds of meals or behaviours. She had all of her freedom, could still do all she wished in terms of her career and could see her children as she desired. So, in that regard, she did not even pretend to truly understand Deanna’s pain. However, in terms of missing the one that you love more than anything? Of feeling incomplete every moment of your life without them?

Selena certainly understood that, and she was sure it was that that Deanna was referring to. From having their moments of simply speaking and seeing each other being limited and only one night a month to have any kind of intimidate relations to, sometimes (Selena would not loudly admit, private as she was) spending full days where neither of them would leave the bedroom, choosing to cuddle, make love and all that they were free to do… 

“I feel the same way.” Selena whispered. “I don’t want you away from me ever again. In our lives or work-“
“Well, work, you’d be-“ Deanna tried, only for a pale hand to gently fold against her lips.
“No.” came the steeled, firm response from Selena. “You have no idea, Deanna.”

Slowly, the Snow Queen took a deep breath, moving a hand to cup her wife’s face, while silently praying that no one walked into the room while she bore her soul out, awkward as that would make it.

“I buried myself in my work.” She whispered, keeping her voice low so only her wife could hear it. “I sought my own destruction against a monster like Xander, not caring if he tore me to pieces or crippled me.”
“Sele-“
“I know it was stupid, okay? I’d probably be the same way now if he pushed me far enough. At least in terms of how I would fight him. But I was trying to fight away that feeling of being numb and alone and empty without you. And Regan…” her thoughts drifted to her sister for a moment. “Bless her, she gave me a purpose. Something to work for. Someone to support and who would support me. It helped me keep myself somewhat competent. But it… it wasn’t you.”

By this point, Selena removed her hand, seeing Deanna chewing a little on her lower lip, working it with her teeth while maintaining her silence.

“But when that all ended, and I got her everything she wanted to achieve, and I had no more goals to achieve in that regard… it all just came back to me.” Selena admitted. “The feelings of loneliness, being half-complete, which I had been trying to fight back – they hit like a tidal wave. Everything was affected. My work in the Tag League, as a singles wrestler, it all feel apart because I knew that I was just fooling myself. That I was only half of what I use to be. And without rage or seeking my own destruction… I couldn’t be anything close to what I was in SCW, just like I couldn’t anything close to what I was when it was us.”

The redhead gave a slight nod, allowing Selena to continue.

“The night you came to me… and you showed up on that bus… I knew in my heart that-“ a pale hand drew Deanna’s over the organ, placing it there so Deanna could feel the strong beat under the white dress shirt Selena wore. “I realized just how incomplete I had been without you, in so many ways as a wrestler, yes, but in every way as a woman and wife.”

There was a brief pause as Selena stared deeply into Deanna’s eyes, who returned the gaze with as much depth. “I don’t want to go back to any of that.” She declared in her whispers. “Not for a single moment.”

The smaller Frost gave a slight sniffle, using her free hand to wipe her eyes with a finger. “Is that why you fought so hard to get me truly hired as a full-time manager in SCW?” she asked, trying her best to ease some of the tension caused by their revelations.

“Yes.”

The answer was flat and held no hint of mirth. It was serious, and it caught Deanna off-guard, as did what Selena followed up with.

“The night I declared my intention to chase the World title?” she whispered. “And I said that you were the person that makes me strongest? I meant it. I won’t succeed without you. I won’t beat Syren without you with me.”

Whether Deanna believed that or not, Selena’s wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like Selena had much to prove it. She had already amassed a list of accolades and memorable matches on her own in SCW. Had beaten everyone on the roster that there was to beat, icons and veterans included. But, none the less, her statement on that episode of Breakdown had come from the heart, spoken with every part of it by Selena. 

It was a decision that Selena had not taken lightly. To go for the World title was to invite the ire of every other person that was gunning for it. In the last month alone, Bree Lancaster had returned and declared her intentions to get an ‘automatic rematch’ at the next Pay-Per-View following “Careful What You Wish For”, Chris Cannon was owed a rematch, Datura was next in line, and, of course there was Syren demanding it every night.

All of them were at a calibre that had intimidated Selena when she had decided to continue wrestling following Frozen Hell’s end. But with Deanna? There was no doubt. It was possible. It would require so much hard work and Selena was certain that she would be pushed and punished beyond her limits, but, with her wife by her side… it didn’t seem out of her reach anymore. It didn’t seem impossible.

As she gazed at Deanna’s face, she was about to further assure her nervous wife about everything, but the sound of a door opening caught her attention, as it did Deanna’s, as both women stared at the sight of a familiar face.

One that Deanna had not seen in almost two years…  

****************************************************

Frankfurt Court Center
Frankfurt, Germany
August 2nd, 2019
3:04pm

The bastard sat there so smug.

For the past week, Selena had sat in that courtroom, every moment checking the facial expressions of the jury, of the judge, of the lawyer she had hired for Deanna – the best in Frankfurt that would take the case – the prosecutor… and the plaintiff…

Trying to find some degree of hope to latch onto as the days continued on and the case seemed to fall further and further from their hands and into the hands of the boy that sat there declaring her wife was something she wasn’t.

At first, it had been ridiculous. The whole notion that this was happening. While she was willing to believe that this boy was the biological father of her daughter, Amiliah (that particular moment in the trial – the biological test results that proved her parentage), the idea that Deanna had sexually molested this boy was ludicrous. No, the boy clearly had taken advantage of Deanna and, when he learned that she was married to Selena (and thus to a celebrity), he was just trying to make a quick buck! 

But after he had turned down their offer for settlement, despite Selena offering large sum after large sum, and after he had declared that he merely wanted to see ‘a bad woman be held accountable for her actions’-

Once more, Selena’s mind screamed. How the hell did it come to this?! As each day had passed, she had bore witness to the prosecution essentially dissecting everything, including Deanna and herself, tearing apart her marriage, Deanna’s ethics as a woman, making the jury question everything that she ever did! 

Thank Odin they didn’t know about my ‘snow child’ days or Deanna’s original idea of how she became pregnant… Selena thought before her eyes drifted over to the right from where she sat, behind the defendant’s table. The boy that sat there, in a gray suit (a stark contrast to her black skirt and stockings, combined with the white shirt and black dress top that she wore, her hair in it’s long, braid), his arms resting on the table in front of him at the elbow. His posture and expression screamed more ‘relaxed’ than anything else, odd for someone in the same room as, supposedly, the same person that assaulted them…

Once more, the feeling that all of this was unreal – a farce – filled her core, more so as the boy’s head turned, eventually settling on her before going lower and then back up to her, lingering for a moment on her black stockinged legs.

Is he…Is he fucking checking me out?!

A sense of revulsion filled her, almost causing her stomach to eject what little food she had managed to be able to consume this morning. Quickly, she jerked her head away, though she could still feel his eyes on her.

“Selena…” 

She was leaning towards the rail towards the voice, her wife standing on the other side. Presently, the judge and all had been recalled to announce the verdict, which would be any moment. Pushing herself to her feet, Selena was immediately pulled almost over the rail separating her and the crowd from those involved with the trial, her wife clinging to her.

“I’m scared…” Deanna whispered as Selena wrapped her arms around her, placing a hand over her head to guide it to rest over her chest.

“Don’t be.” She whispered, though her words sounded hypocritical and hollow in her ears. “This is a joke. This whole thing. Anyone with a brain can see that you’re innocent. That you did nothing.”

Looking over her wife, a luxury afforded to her due to her height, Selena spotted their lawyer, a middle-aged fellow that kept his back to the pair of them. Does he even fucking care? the thought was savage and Selena quickly dispelled it. The whole trial had been a nightmare and she was beyond tired from it, exhausted physically and emotionally from her family being put through this.

“But what if…” She felt her wife tremble in her arms. “They’re going to find me guilty. They’re going to take me from you. From our children…”

Biting her lip to the point of pain, Selena guided her wife’s face to meet hers in a gaze.

“That will not happen.” She whispered harshly. “They won’t keep us apart. I don’t care what they say-“
“But what if they do!” Deanna whispered, the panic and fear in her voice. “What will they think? What will you-“

“I’ll tell them that you did nothing wrong.” Selena urged. “I’ll tell them that you love them with all your heart and that this won’t break us.”

Despite her words, however, it was as if Deanna’s panic was oozing into Selena’s being, to the point where, as each day of this trial had passed, she had begun to believe more and more that there was a possibility that they could find Deanna guilty…

Conceal… her brain roared in defiance. Don’t feel… She mentally repeated the mantra as she held her wife in her arms, the smaller Deanna releasing quiet sobs at the very real possible fate.

The doors opening stole everyone’s attention, and a rather forceful pull from her lawyer took Deanna from Selena as both were forced to take their seats, only to rise back up to a standing position as soon as the judge entered the courtroom.

As Selena retook her seat, she began to feel her heart pounding inside her, hear the blood pumping into her ears. It was like the many times she and Deanna had taken walks on the beach or swam together naked in the early morning/late nights before the sun rose or after it set. They also would look for shells, just for fun, but one day, on which beach in the world they were on, Selena could not remember, but Deanna had found a particularly large one. She had rushed over to Selena and shown it off like buried treasure, proud as can be. After insisting on cleaning it properly, which meant running into the water to submerge it, apparently, Deanna had held it up to her ear before telling Selena to do so.

“It’s the ocean!” she proclaimed.
“Common misbelief.” Selena had corrected. “It’s actually amplifying the sound of blood pumping in your ears.”
“Wow…what a romantic you are, Selena!”

“Members of the jury, have you reached your verdict?” the judge asked – the court had been asked to use the English language when possible out of preference of both the plaintiff and defence. 

“What’s more romantic than talking about the circulatory system?”
“The sound of the ocean?”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I don’t need a seashell to hear my heart.”
“I probably shouldn’t ask this, but why not?”
“Because I can hear you just fine.”
“…Smooth.”

“Please stand.” The judge ordered to Deanna and to Castle, they and their lawyers obeying. “Deanna Elizabeth Frost. On the charge of sexual misconduct of a minor, the jury finds you guilty as charged.”

”Be glad you snatched me up first.”
“As I recall, you asked me to marry you.”
“Well I had to make sure I snatched you up first.”
“I’m glad you did…”

“On the charge of sexual harassment involving a minor, the jury finds you guilty as charged.

”You are the most precious person, thing, or whatever that I ever found, Deanna. Nothing but our children come close.”
“See? You can be romantic!”
“Well, don’t expect it every day.”
“I doubt my heart could take the constant stops with such wooing.”

“On the charge of sexual assault involving a minor, the defence finds you guilty as charged.”

“You’re terrible.”
“And yet you love me, your majesty.”
“Maybe I do…”
“And maybe I love you…”

“It is the decision of this court that you are to be incarcerated at Frankfurt Prison III, where you will serve a sentence of ten years.”

The slam of the gavel broke through the blood pumping in Selena’s ears – shattering her heart in the process as the judge adjourned the court and Deanna was immediately up, rushing into her wife’s arms, no longer holding back her cries as she sobbed into Selena’s form. 

No… her mind recoiled. It can’t be… I don’t believe it!

Like the waves of the ocean, her blood once more was pumping loudly in her ears, and beyond anything, she wished that was all she was hearing. The sound of the ocean. Because then she could just take Deanna’s hand and walk away.

Slowly, as the court was dispersed, Selena not seeing any of them leave, the bailiff slowly approached the couple, gently urging Deanna to release Selena. Despite her cries, Deanna did as she was told, capturing her wife first in one last, desperate kiss before being guided out of the courtroom.

“I love you.” She cried out before she disappeared.

Selena said nothing. She couldn’t say anything. Even when everyone was gone. She had just stood there, in that empty courtroom, her eyes glued on the door where her wife had been taken.

How long she stayed like that, she wasn’t certain. Her mind kept recoiling every sense that assailed her, every thought that tried to bring her back to reality. Reality telling her that her wife was gone – being sent to jail and that she was alone…

But, as time moved on, a member of security eventually entered the room and guided Selena out of the courthouse. And as she stood outside and felt the fall wind touch her skin, she allowed herself to take a slow breath.

In that moment, as she stood on the streets of Frankfurt, her steps were heavier. Everything wasn’t as sharp or full or colorful to her. Nothing made as much sense. And her?

She could already feel herself struggling to even exist, as if half of her had been ripped from her and taken somewhere else. 

”What if they take me away from you?”

“I…” Selena whispered, as her eyes gazed down at her hands and feet, lost in her own brokenness. “I don’t know…” she whispered.

“I don’t know…”