Syren vs. Selena Frost

[Konrad Raab]

2 RP Limit for singles

Deadline: 5 PM ET SUNDAY, May 2, 2021 – note deadline

[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…”

[SnowQueenSCW]

OOC: And thus we reach the end of “The Dark Side of the Sun”. Not sure if this has been my longest arc but it’s been a blast putting the pieces together for this near two-year finish. Posted in two parts due to length.

The Dark Side of the Sun

”A Lion's Share”

Frankfurt Court Center
Frankfurt, Germany
April 29th, 2021
12:32pm


A haunting silence filled the room as the three people stood there, the two women that stood together staring down the taller, lean man that stood before them. For a second, less than that if one was to be technical, Selena’s gaze shot to Deanna’s face as she stood beside her wife, trying to take in the redhead’s expression in that microcosm of time.

Deanna’s expression was set in place and her jaw was locked shut, and Selena mentally sent her thanks to Odin and the gods that, despite the, no doubt, shock at seeing her accuser once more, Deanna had stuck to the plan Talia had laid out for them, remaining silent and not giving the man anything he could use.

As for the man, Fredric Castle looked very much the same as Selena had last seen a year or so ago. Of course, he didn’t know that, for she had been in disguise with Talia at the time. Still, it was the the last time she had seen him as herself that her mind leapt to for a moment as the man stood there, dressed a simply black suit and matching tie, a contrast to Selena’s attire, as well as Deanna’s black skirt, white shirt and black ‘suit top’, choosing to go a more ‘generic’ route then Selena’s attire, which included the dark red coat she still wore over her thin frame.

Behind Fredric shuffled a shorter, larger man with thinning wisps of hair that seemed to be clinging to the man’s skull for dear life. He wore a simple gray suit and, unlike his client, who was maintain an unreadable expression, the only expression this fellow showed was irritation.

That all being said, he was immediately recognized as the same man that had helped put Deanna in prison nearly two years ago, serving the same purpose he seemed to be serving now. As he regarded the two Frost women, his whole body seemed to try and work together, like gears in a clock working one after the other in order to make the hands move, his body parts revving him up to get him to speak. Before he could utter a word, however, the door behind everyone was opened once more, allowing a young woman to stride into the room.

“Good morning, everyone.” She replied openly, gaining the attention of everyone within the room. Her hair was tied up tied in a bun and her clothes were of the same kind as Deanna’s. She held a leather binder in her hands and did not waste time moving to a seat at the table, seating herself as she set up. “I’m glad everyone could make it. Please have a seat.”

Not to the surprise of anyone, all obeyed the young woman, the Frost women sitting at one side/end of the table, while Castle and his lawyer – Selena was sure his name was Sherman or something – sat the opposite. This was, after all, the mediator of this meeting – mediations before a new trial was to be set up. The last thing either side wanted was to be problematic to her.

“So…” the young woman gazed from the Frosts to Castle and his lawyer. “As you know, my name is Cheryl and I’ve been assigned as mediator of today’s mediation proceedings. I’d like remind everyone that a civil, professional attitude is preferred and encouraged. Any disorderly conduct will be handled by security within the building. Does everyone understand?”

“Of course.” ‘Sherman’ sighed, while Fredric simply nodded. Both Selena and Deanna merely nodded their hands as well.
“Alright.” Replied Cheryl as she opened her binder, which was filled with papers, though Selena could not make out the small writing on said paper from where she sat. With a click from a black, ball-point pen, Cheryl, once more gazed around the room at the other occupants. “Who would like to start?”

“I would like to simply start-“ Sherman pointed out. “That I believe this to be a complete waste of time for myself and my client, and will add that, while we have no intention to alter our original charges against Mrs. Frost, we will now be adding courtroom charges and legal fees on top of that.”

“Assuming it goes to court.” Selena replied sharply as she sat in her seat, gaining Sherman’s surprise and attention.

“I’m sorry, but why is Mrs. Frost here? Does the defendant not have a lawyer?”
“My wife chose her own council and representative for this mediation-“
“Objection.” Sherman pointed out. “Conflict of interest! Mediator, I mean, this is a farce-“
“I remind you, Mr. Horner, that this is not a courtroom. The defendant is allowed to have council here as well be represented by whom she wishes.” Cheryl countered. “Should this go to trial, that matter may be contested, but as of here and now-“

“Very well.” Sherman sighed with a dismissive wave. “I’ll withdraw my objections. You were saying, Mrs. Frost?”

While it was a small victory at best, Selena savoured it internally, clinging to the positive feeling of victory that swelled within her chest. Under the table, she felt Deanna’s hands squeezing hers affectionately, though her face and body gave no other hint of her emotional state.

“I believe you responded perfectly, mediator.” She simply added. “Of course, I will add that it is our intention to have this end here and now without going to trial.”

No one could have missed the loud “Pffft” sound of disbelief that came from Fredric’s lips, the young man clearly not believing, for a second that such a thing was possible.

“Something to add, Mr. Castle?” Cheryl asked politely, giving away no emotion or expression that would indicate bias or personal thoughts.
“I’m just…” he sighed, reaching up to massage his forehead. “Nevermind.” He simply replied. “I’m not going to be accused of unprofessional behaviour by such desperate people.”

Oh, right! Selena’s mind laughed. He said he’s not going to be ‘unprofessional’ but he just threw a sideways insult at us, calling us ‘desperate’.

“No, no.” the Snow Queen held up her hand. “If the plaintiff wishes to express his views on the matter, we’re more than happy to give them the floor to speak.”

A split second, Castle’s eyes darted to his lawyer, who gave an imperceptible nod. Taking a deep breath, as if to steel himself, Fredric leaned over the table, his eyes glaring into Deanna mostly.

“I want to know what kind of people would continue to torment their victim as much as you have, Mrs. Frost.” He stated sharply. “I…I was just starting to get over it. I was trusting myself to date again… I was able to hold down a job… the night terrors were rarer and rarer because I thought I was done with you. That I was SAFE from you. And now… here I am, having to relive that nightmare all over again!” he took a moment for some steady breaths, as if to compose himself. “How dare you… you…Ekelhaftes Tier!”

“Hey!” Cheryl warned. “There is no need for that!”

“Forgive my client.” Sherman quickly stated, gently guiding Fredric to sit back against the chair. “But given the nature of this case, I believe you can understand his reluctance to open up old wounds and revisit them. And I must echo my client’s sentiments that this is entirely unreasonable to have the case reopened and re-tried.”

The group was silent for a moment, Deanna at a loss at what she heard. It was not so different than what had filled her ears during the initial trial, where she had been cursed in German and English as well. Slowly, her eyes glanced at her wife…

Selena had not budged, beyond her jaw clenching and her eyes narrowing.

“Since you afforded the notion to speak your mind, Mr. Castle…” she started, slowly, like a dull growl. “Do you mind granting me the same courtesy?”

Neither man replied in words, Sherman merely raising an eyebrow as Selena pushed herself out of her chair, moving away from them. “May I share with you what a true nightmare is, Mr. Castle?” she asked, her eyes gazing at the walls as she moved around the section of the room – a pale hand reaching up to caress a side or shelf as she passed it. She could almost see the arctic-blue and white lights in her mind.

“A nightmare, Mr. Castle, is lying on a slab that your jailors call ‘a bed’ every night for almost two years, not being able to hold the one you love. A nightmare is going day by day, not knowing if this is the day you get beaten up again… or worse. A nightmare is having to be told that you can’t see your children as they grow up. As they reach milestones in their young lives…”

Slowly, she turned to cast her gaze, cold and calculating, not at Deanna or the mediator or even the damn lawyer, but directly at Fredric, the tension building like a storm.

“But most of all, Mr. Castle, a true nightmare is living this hell every day and never knowing why. Never knowing why you were cast there to begin with. Never knowing why you were imprisoned. Only knowing the ticking of hours, that turn into weeks, that turn into months, that turns into years…”

Tick, tock…Tick, tock…

The sound of the clock on the wall seemed to echo louder, as if, somehow, spurned on by Selena’s words as she stood her spot.

“Ahem…” Sherman cleared his throat. “A very sad story, Mrs. Frost. While I can sympathize to your wife’s pain, to an extent, I will remind you that her issues are a result of her crimes – I will repeat – a result of her crimes. Choices she made. Now, since you and your wife are the ones that instigated this ‘new trial’, I must insist you get to the point so that we may proceed as planned.”

“I must agree with Mr. Horner.” Cheryl politely urged. “Let’s get back on track, shall we?”

Quickly, Selena nodded, moving back to her wife, drawing closer to her and able to see, subtle as it was, the effect her speech had on the young woman. Still, the Snow Queen forced herself to remain focused, reaching down to the floor to her leather bag and pulling out a simple folder. Retrieving it, she held it up for all those in the room to see.

“This is the reason that I was granted a new trial by a magistrate here in Frankfurt.”

Gracefully, she slid the folder across the table towards Sherman and Fredric, the former of the two taking it and opening it to scan the papers carefully.

“Let me tell you an interesting story.” Selena began. “A young boy in New Jersey realizes at a young age that he has a rather…special condition. He finds out that, despite his always increasing age, he manages to maintain a rather youthful visage. Lucky fellow, I’d say. I was born with hair whiter than most people at the other end of the age spectrum. But this guy decides to use this feature to his benefit-“ Selena stopped as she heard Sherman turn one of the many pages over. Castle’s eyes, on the other hand, remained locked onto Selena, as she continued.

“Things start off slow. Some misdemeanors here and there – he doesn’t really cross out onto the scene until he’s a bit older, where he manages to swindle a single mother of 43 into having sex with him. Now, the woman declares that the boy proved that he was 22 at the time, but no one believes her. And even if they do, a brief background check proves otherwise.”

“Your point?” asked Sherman, as he turned another page.
“Oh, no point. But, about a year and a half later, wouldn’t you know it? Another single mother, this one 39 years old and in Washington, is arrested and charged with sex with a minor, swearing the same thing. Naturally, the same result occurs. Fast forward five years and similar instances are popping up in Vancouver, Manchester, Tokyo, and even Budapest.”

“Again, is there a point to this?” Sherman repeated, his voice clearly showing his irritation.

“Oh there is.” Selena pressed. “In all six cases, the boys that were ‘assaulted’? Missing. Haven’t been seen since the incident. No new mailing address, phone number, social media page, nothing. It was like they disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“Selena…”

The voice was a slight whisper and had Selena been standing anywhere other than close to Deanna, she would not have heard the redhead whisper under her breath. “Look…” she barely lifted her finger to point towards Fredric, an action missed by most, but caught by Selena, who turned her head towards the object of so much pain and loss that the two of them had suffered.

Fredric’s body was still, his eyes were growing wider with each piece of information that Selena revealed – the information that had cost her the very thing that had made her a Frost in her own mind for so much of her life.

“And then we look at you, Mr. Castle.” Selena replied, eyeing Sherman. “And here, you can turn to page 34 in the folder there, Mr. Horner.” She didn’t wait for the lawyer to respond. “That’s where I find out that you moved here to Frankfurt six years ago with your mom, Gloria Castle, right?”

“Ye-yes.” Castle sharply answered.

“Right. And initially, along with your birth certificate coming from the smaller city of Schwerin, that was that and nobody looked twice. But after what I found-“
“What is all this? How did you get it?” Sherman tried to interject.

“I’ll get to that.” Selena fired back, her mind ablaze, locked on the image she was fighting for. That image of her wife standing in her bus over a month ago, tears in her eyes, telling her ‘We’re together again.’ And her vow to never lose her wife again!

With a clench of her jaw, Selena pushed further. “But looking into Schwerin, Fredric? No hospital had you on record. More than that, there was no Gloria Castle that occupied Schwerin at that time frame. And the same was said of your father, Jonas Castle.”

Selena took a deep breath, letting her words settle for a moment, but her eyes never wavering from the bastard that had stolen her wife for nearly two years.

“I could go on, but I’ll cut to the chase, Mr. Castle. You weren’t 16 when you first met my wife in that tavern in Oberwesel. You were 31…”

The quiet rage that been growing in Selena since she started, had grown into a fire, one she used to keep herself from crashing from the emotional high she was riding.

“Because those boys: James Corlett from Vancouver? Gabe Hull from Manchester? Aiden Rapsin in Tokyo? All the way to that little boy little boy in New Jersey… was you, wasn’t it, Mr. Collin Oltins?!”

There was a microsecond before Fredric spoke – a moment where he recoiled at the mention of that name, his head jerking up to glare at Selena… but it felt like an eternity to the Snow Queen.

“I’ve never heard of those people! What the hell are you getting at?” He demanded to know, a hand from Sherman the only thing keeping him in his chair.

“I agree!” Sherman spat. “This is what you have? Conjecture?! Conspiracy theories to excuse your ways despicable behaviour? A smear campaign against a young man, who has a minor, was victimized by YOUR wife?! HOW DARE YOU!!”

“People, please!” pressed Cheryl, holding her hands up.

“No!” proclaimed Sherman, pushing himself out of the chair with Castle following. “We are done here! We’re not going to give these women ANY kind of consideration! You may have swindled a magistrate, Mrs. Frost, but I can assure you that no jury will buy this wild theory without a shred of TRUE evidence! Not circumstantial!”

The two were heading to the door – Selena’s heart quickening as they did.

“Yeah, you might want to check page 102 before you go, Mr. Horner. Considering it’s not just your client who’s name is on the line now.”

It was a gamble – the only thing Selena could think of in that moment to try and stop one or both of them from leaving – because if they did, so did any chance of ending this here and now!

But Sherman did stop, his fat hand halfway towards the door handle, turning around to eye the platinum-blonde as she stood there.

“Excuse me?” he asked, eyes ablaze in, Selena had to admit, reasonable anger.

“It’s simple.” Selena stated. “You walk out that door, I still have Deanna. Until she’s found guilty again, she can stay with me on bail. She’s proven that she can be trusted to be here to make court appearances. So if that happens, we’ll still win in the end. But if you walk out that door…” she gestured to the door before them. “You walk out that door and keep yourself tied to Castle? Once he loses, it’s going to come back on you. That you aided a rapist. A con artist. And so much worse. So… before you do, I’d check page 102.”

The Snow Queen quietly held her breath as she stood there, everyone remaining still as Sherman seemed to contemplate the words spoken, and while it was only seven or eight seconds, it felt like an hour to Selena as Sherman regarded her before, with a more than audible grumble, he flipped open the folder that he had tossed onto the table, flipping pages less than ‘enthusiastically’ until he spotted the page number at the top.

Tick…tock… the clock sounded loudly in Selena’s ears, and she could not imagine what this was doing to her poor wife, who was probably fighting against speaking out every second that passed.

“What is this?” Sherman asked, turning his attention over to Selena.

“Two things that link everything together.” Selena explained. “First, credit card paths. Our lawyer tracked this down when the pieces started to fall into place-“
“You just said that there was no credit history to all those missing kids.” Sherman interjected.
“No, you’re right, there weren’t. But you’re forgetting one other part in this.” Selena stated. “Each of those boy, much like Mr. Castle here, had a, supposedly single mother. And, like those boys, said mother eventually up and vanishes, but according to those statements, not before emptying her account into another, only to be picked up by someone else.”

Immediately, Sherman’s eyes glared down at the sheets and sheets of paper trail that etched out the journey of the last near decade. From Terri Oltins to Shania Burks to Samantha Hull, all the way, after a winding and twisting path, to Gloria Castle.

“Turns out that the woman wasn’t his mother. More like girlfriend and partner in crime.” Selena concluded.

There was a moment of silence as Sherman’s head turned from Selena to the papers to Fredric to the papers and back to Selena.

“You can’t be believing this!” Fredric declared. “You’re my lawyer! I’m paying you to defend me! I’m telling you that that woman-“ he pointed a sharp finger at the quiet Deanna as she sat there. “That woman molested me! She took advantage of me! Why would I take her to trial if all I wanted was money?!”

Despite herself, Selena found herself biting her lip. “Actually, that is a good point.” She finally replied. “I’ll admit that that was the one thing I couldn’t quite grasp. Because I offered you a lot and you still pushed to take this to trial.”
“BECAUSE SHE DID IT!” yelled Fredric desperately, his face turning red. “BECAUSE SHE’S GUILTY!”

Yet, as he looked around the room and saw the eyes of all, from Selena to Deanna to Cheryl to Sherman, glaring at him, he could not find the steeled expression he had used earlier so well.

With a sigh, the large lawyer, packed up his bag before shuffling past Fredric, making his way to the door.

“Where are you going?!” Castle demanded.
Turning back to face the man, the lawyer’s face seemed to change, revealing the truth age and weariness he held.

“I believe it would be in the best interest if you sought other representation, Mr. Castle.” Was all he said before closing the door in Castle’s face, his footsteps echoing through the outside hall before it was silent.

Fredric, meanwhile, stood there in shock, his back to the women inside the room.

It took a few breaths for Selena to slow her fast-beating heart, her eyes still on the back of Castle.

“Castle.” She called out, gaining his attention as he slowly turned around. “There’s more in that folder.” She gestured towards the folder Sherman had returned to the table before departing. “More mistakes you and your girlfriend made in the last decade. Little things that link up. And I promise you, right now, there is more than enough there to prove what I’ve been saying is true. Meaning your charges on my wife? Charges regarding minors? They don’t hold.”

She paused to give the man time to digest her words.

“You have one option now.” She stated. “ Because whether you continue trying to get my wife in prison now or not, this will end up in the hands of the police. The only difference is that, in court? There will not be a doubt in anyone’s mind in who you are. You don’t? It stays more quiet, but either way, it’ going to be you that spends the next ten years or so in a Frankfurt prison!”

Despite the very clear threat, Fredric’s eyes did not deviate from the folder on the table.

“Mr. Castle?” Cheryl’s voice came clear to everyone remaining in the room, even gathering a little of Fredric’s attention, but she was met with silence for a solid two minutes.

“What do you want from me?”

The question came from as a whisper, a squeak of sound from the once proud and, as Selena remembered, smug man. But as she was about to answer, the word that came out was not her own.

“Nothing.”

Jerking her head back, eyes wide, Selena was stunned to see her wife, her Deanna, staring at the boy that had cost her nearly two years of her life, and the boy that could only stare at her.

“I can’t change what you’ve done.” She said, her voice clear but nowhere near the volume Selena had roared with. “I can’t take back what I’ve lost thanks to you… and whatever else is coming your way from your past, I can’t stop that.”

She sighed. “I know I should hate you and part of me does. Maybe I always will. All that my wife said about nightmares was absolutely true. And you have no idea what hell you put me through just for money or whatever it is you got out of this….” She bit her lower lip, but kept her eyes on Fredric. “But also gave me my little girl, Amiliah… and for that, I could not be more thankful to you.”

For the first time in, perhaps awhile, Selena could not speak. She could barely process the words coming from her wife’s lips.  

“But… I just want to go home.” Her voice shook a little. “Please, just let me go home and be with my wife and my children.”

The plea left the room in silence, Fredric standing there in shock, though not moreso than Selena, but certainly for different reasons as a certain emotion begin to grow and swell within the Snow Queen’s chest.

“I’ll…I’ll drop the charges…”

Tick…tock…tick…tock.

Selena had to make sure she heard right, repeating the sound in her head over and over again until she heard Deanna gasp, her soft hands reaching out to clutch Selena’s hand.

“Very well.” Cheryl, the mediator immediately writing in her notes. “I will need you to sign this…” she turned a paper over to the Fredric, who shakingly wrote his name on it before handing it to Deanna, who eagerly signed it. That accomplished, the woman filed the paper into her folder. “You should receive a copy in your mailboxes within a few days. I should also inform you, Mr. Castle, that I am obligated to turn over the evidence to other cases that Mrs. Frost supplied to the police and that-“

Within a second, the folder containing said information was snatched off the table, Fredric Castle grabbing it and bolting for the door. On instinct, Selena grabbed her wife and dove to the ground, fearing an attack and covering her wife with her body.

“MR. CASTLE!” Cheryl called out as the man ripped open the door and ran out of the room, sprinting down the hall for all that he was worth. The mediator quickly rushed to the door, shouting in German – words Selena could not comprehend – but she did hear the loud crash and sound of a scuffle that seem to come further down the hall. Staring down, she gazed at her wife, checking over her.

“Are you alright?!” she asked.
“Winded a little from being tackled…” Deanna groaned. “I’m okay.” She added as Selena helped her up to her feet.

Together the two Frost wives moved to the door in time to see security guards on the ground, grappling with the restrained Fredric Castle, pulling him to his feet, handcuffing him, and leading him away, Cheryl only a few feet away from the Frost women, waiting as one of guards not restraining Castle gathered up the pieces of paper scattered on the ground, placing them back in the folder and handing them to Cheryl, who took them gingerly before returning to the Frost women.

“I apologize.” She stated.
“You have no reason to apologize.” Deanna assured the, slightly, frazzled mediator. “But…does this change his confession-“
“No.” Cheryl stated, holding up the signed paper both Deanna and Fredric had signed. “He has officially dropped the charges. This won’t help his case either, but in terms of you, Mrs. Frost, you’re free to go.”

Emerald eyes grew wide as Deanna’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “I’m…I’m free…completely?”

“Yes.” Cheryl smiled. “Unless you change your mind and decide to press charges for your time in prison or many spent in fines-“

Unable to say any more words, Deanna could only shake her head. “Just tell me I can go home, please…”

Cheryl was about to reply before her eyes caught sight of the taller woman standing beside Deanna, the platinum-blonde turning her wife in her arms with a bright smile.

“Deanna…” she grinned, seeing her wife’s eyes tear up as she spoke the words she wanted to say to her beloved. “We can go home.”

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

2 days later
4:11pm

All the bags were packed and placed in the car, ready to go, but it wasn’t to move the Frosts out of Oberwessel and back to Manhattan just yet. No… it would have been foolish to think that could be done so quickly, Selena thought, as she moved the last bag into the trunk and shut it, releasing a huff of breath from the exertion.

Their flight to Pittsburgh was in a few hours, the flight that would take, not only Selena, but also Deanna to “Be Careful What You Wish For”, and her match with Syren.

Be careful what you wish for… Selena had to smile at the old adage. She had certainly gotten what she wished for in Deanna’s freedom and no matter whatever came their way because of that, she would never regret wishing for it. Her match with Syren? Yes, there was a chance that she was either going to lose clean or, more likely, that Infamous would, once again and despite Mr. D.’s prompting, get involved to save their ‘golden goose’ for the umpteenth time, which would mean there was a good chance that the Snow Queen would have to eat crow, especially after she filmed her promo in the coming days –

Selena had to smile at the arguments she had written down in her laptop over the last few days regarding that promo, her mind finally allowing her to work on her job. The process had been rather cathartic for the young woman and, she could imagine, lead to some regrets if she came up short like she had in the past against opponents like her sister Regan and Xander Valentine. But, when it came to Deanna, she was not going to regret what she had given up for her wife to be with her once more. Soon, they would be back in their ‘forever home’ in Manhattan, back to the lives they had to leave behind thanks to Castle.

But, of course, it couldn’t be that easy to simply leave Oberwesel. Both women knew that when they had returned back to share the good news. Yes, the two of them could come and go as they wanted – but for their children?

No. It would not be that easy. It was still April, closing in on May. Two of the children were still in school, needing to finish up the school year…

A shiver of excitement shot through Selena. While Amiliah was still a bit too young to understand, David had been thrilled to hear that the Frost would, eventually, be heading back home to Manhattan. The boy had friends back there and it had been harder to make new friends here with most people ‘yelling words I don’t understand’ – the language barrier being a slight issue, and the translator the school had assigned for him probably had not helped him any, she realized. As for Elsianna, while she had loved staying here in the quiet castle and country, she did miss her friends like Asuna Gray – having to use the Zoom calls for their Dungeons and Dragons sessions. Her only concern was returning to the city where the Stantons were, the boy Aaron Stanton having been responsible for the burn scars that laced up and down the young girl’s arms, which remained covered by her gloves. A little assurance that the boy/family could not bother the Frosts again was enough for her, and the entire Frost family were on board to returning home once the children finished the school year.

But when it came to excitement, none had matched Deanna and Gerda.

At the thought of that, Selena turned around just in time to see her wife skipping out of the castle door, her spaghetti-strapped sundress flowing around her with her movements, light blue with swirls of purple and pink (Selena not quite sure of the combination worked but, even so, was miles ahead of a prison uniform). The redhead, reaching her wife, hopped into her wife’s space, throwing her arms around Selena’s neck gently and kissing her without any hesitation or shame that they were outside of the castle, where the whole world could see them.

This was part of that ‘excitement’ that only Deanna and Gerda had. In regards to the family friend and neighbour, Gerda was beyond excited to return home to her husband, Kai, who had stayed behind in Manhattan to look after their home as well as the Frost’s house and keep up-to-date with the neighbourhood. For the redhead, her newfound freedom, without any threat of ‘continued incarceration’ haunting her, had made her want to savour every moment she had said freedom. What that entailed was a total loss of inhibitions, which Deanna did not have many to begin with! For the last few days, Selena had been on the receiving end of many a surprise hug, kiss or snuggle-opportunity by her liberated wife, which the Snow Queen did not mind in the least.

Breaking the kiss, Deanna moved her head back, a bright smile on her face. “Kids are wondering where you are.”
“Just finished up packing.” Selena smiled, gestured, somewhat proudly (the bags were heavy after all) to the packed vehicle. “Though I’m trying to not think about the fact that I’ll have to unpack them all once we get to the airport, and when we land.”

For a moment, Deanna’s head tilted to the side, taking in the sight of the parked and packed vehicle. “Well, why don’t I help?” she asked. “I mean, I appreciate you letting me spend as much time with the kids as possible, but they won’t be coming with us.”

“Because the bags are heavy.” Selena argued. “Besides, Deanna. It’s mostly my gears and clothes and you’re supposed to be-“

She barely had time to register with a squeak as her point-of-view immediately shifted, the former world champion suddenly finding herself a solid three or four feet higher as she was lifted off the ground, a strong pair of arms wrapped around her legs to lift her! A brief second of confusion and disorientation, however, and the realization of her predicament came to her, causing her to see the calm expression of her wife.

“Hi.” Deanna smiled, and it was the soft, beautiful face of the redhead that surprised Selena the most. Sure, she was a healthy weight (certainly not the heaviest woman in the world), and., with her profession, she had been manhandled before, tossed around like a beanbag by men twice her size and, certainly, she had been lifted by women before-

All of that said, the women that had lifted her, tossed her around the ring, slammed her into the mat, were wrestlers. Strong women like Red Rayne (who had lifted Selena with one arm and powerbombed her) and her sister, Regan, and other legends like Brittany Lohan and Rachael Tatum. Women that had trained their bodies to be machines of power and domination. So to have her wife, only recently a full-time manager lift her with an expression that screamed a lack of exertion… it stunned Selena a little.

“Um…okay.” Eyebrows raised, she simply stared down at her wife. “I did not really…expect this…”
“I had a lot of free time.” Deanna simply replied, her face still an expression of calm and ease.
“A lot of free time?” Selena laughed. “What were you lifting in there? Other inmates?”
“Pumping iron?” Deanna threw back, trying to add to the joke.
“Lifting weighting times?” Selena tried – not as well as her wife.
“That one doesn’t work.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Selena tilted her head teasingly. “I think being so high up, where the air is thinner is making me a little light-headed! Although…”

The idea came to her, perhaps from the sounds of the birds and nature that surrounded the castle, away from the traffic of Oberwesel down below – a soft memory of something she had always wanted to do but never had with her wife. The reason was simple. With her being taller and stronger physically (due to the demands of her occupation), Selena, throughout her marriage, had adopted the traits (if that was the right word) that could be construed as ‘masculine’. She led her wife when they danced more often than not, she was the breadwinner, hell, more often than not, she wore more unisexual clothes (jeans and jackets, just like she was wearing at that moment) as opposed to dresses (though definitely not exclusively) while her wife always favoured shorts and dresses over jeans and pants.

Very little time to feel like a queen when you’re too busy needing to be a knight… her mind echoed.

But there, lifted off the ground by the woman she loved, that’s exactly how Selena felt. That she was being rescued by a dashing knight with hair as red as the deepest, most crimson sunset and eyes like emeralds. But it was more than that:

Deanna had had every reason to utterly destroy Fredric back in that courthouse. Selena had given her the tools, sharpened them and placed the method in her hands with the information she had given her hair for. Deanna could have bankrupt him and, more than that, could have pressed charges for the hell he put her through – hell, for assaulting her that night! If it had been Selena, Fredric may still be alive, yes, but he would not have an ounce of hope in his eyes…

But Deanna had let him go. Had chosen to forgive him and move on. To not press charges and just… walk away…

Maybe she was physically stronger, a little bit, but… in that moment, watching Deanna… it had hit Selena so strongly, just as it was now. The words she had spoken to her earlier that day: that she needed Deanna, couldn’t be complete or succeed or even be truly happy without her...

She’s so much stronger than me…

And perhaps it was also watching all those damned Disney movies with her kids as well that prompted her hands to lift up, her knuckles and fingers caressing down her wife’s face. Without a word, the former world champion leaned in, granting her ‘knight’ a kiss as deep as she could give, letting herself be the small one in that moment – the woman needing her knight to hold her and save her.

“Ewwww!”

And of course, the sound of disgust filling their ears would break such magic, causing Deanna to lower her wife down to the ground, Selena’s running shoes gently finding purchase as they met the stone-tiled pathway. Slowly, the two women turned, though Deanna kept her arms wrapped around Selena (moving the wrestler’s back) to see Marvel t-shirt wearing boy shaking his head as his babysitter Gerda held his hand.

“Gross.” He added with a shake of his head.
“Oh hush.” Gerda gently chastised the boy. “You were the one that wanted to find them.”
“Because Gunther said we can’t eat till they join us!”

Suffice it to say, while the Frost family were excited to be heading home in a few months, Gunther and his wife, Margarette, the caretakers of the Schonburg castle, were both happy and sad to hear this news. Selena, Deanna, and their children, in the years they had known one the caretakers, had become, somewhat, of a family to them, especially Deanna being see a daughter to Gunther and Margarette. Still, as Gunther had said, “Life must go on!”, at least Selena thought that was what he said as he had spoken it in German. Still, the couple insisted on having a big dinner party to celebrate Deanna’s freedom, Gunther even breaking out the barbeque!

“Ah…” Deanna guiltily shrugged her shoulders, shrugging her shoulders a bit before turning to Selena. “I was supposed to come get you.” She remarked to the platinum-blonde.
“Was the plan to lift me up and carry me there?” Selena asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Hey! You distracted me!” Deanna refuted. “And you know I could have.”

“I distracted you?” Selena’s eyes were wide. “I’m putting packed bags away and then, all of a sudden, I’m being King-Konged like nobody’s business-“
“King Kong?!” Deanna half-laughed, half-gasped, knowing her wife’s fondness for classic movies (assuming their ‘movie theatre’ style entertainment room back in Manhattan was any indication). “You now saying I’m an ape.”

“Well…” Selena gave a toss of her shorter hair with her hand. “You are now, technically, the hairiest woman in the family.”
“Oh…” Deanna seethed playfully. “Just for that… you can sleep in the hallway on the flight to Pittsburgh!”

Without waiting for a response, Deanna marched away, taking David’s hand and guiding him back the way they had come, Gerda in tow.

“Why?” Selena called out, unable to stop the mirth in her voice. “You gonna throw me out of bed?”
“That’s right!” a voice called back from within. “PRISON RULES!”

The answer caused a laugh to escape Selena’s throat as she did one more mental scan of all the bags in the car – until she heard her cellphone going off inside her pant pocket. Withdrawing it, she scanned the number, surprised that it was an “Unknown Number” before contemplating whether or not she should answer.

“Might work…” she reasoned, which was fair. Mr. D. had made the match between Selena and Syren a practically guaranteed thing but – the word there was ‘practically’. And with CHBK and Ravyn in her camp, Syren could easily have found a loophole to dodge facing Selena…meaning she wasn’t needed at the pay-per-view… Better to know than travel for nothing… Gus, Hallie and Kassandra would be pissed… she thought, recalling the staff that were running her private plane, probably right now. Not to mention poor Eric…

She answered the phone.

“Hello?” she asked, listening in to the voice.

“I’m going to give you credit.”

The voice was distorted, warped, reminding Selena of the voice she had heard on Talia’s phone a year ago. The one that had left a threatening message to the lawyer, telling her to stay away from Selena’s case.

“Excuse me?” Selena asked. “Who is this?”
“You wouldn’t know me even if I told you.” Came the answer. “I will say that you impressed me.”
“Ooookay?”

“I don’t know how you got that information on Castle, but you certainly exceeded my expectations.”

A familiar sense of alarm gripped the Snow Queen. “Who is this?”

“Like I said.” Came the voice on the phone. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Then how do you know about Castle? And the information I found?”

“You asked the question a few days ago, didn’t you? That it didn’t make sense why some two-bit conman like Castle had turned down your offers for money?”

The being’s words, distorted as they were in terms of pitch, were transforming Selena’s feelings of alarm to panic.

“How did you know I said that?”
“Easy.” Came the voice. “Because I was there, listening in. I knew where you were. Just like I know where you are right now.”

On instinct, Selena threw herself down and against the car near her, trying to shield herself.

“Hahahaha!” the laughter rang from her phone. “If I wanted you dead, Selena, I would have taken the shot when your wife was lifting you up in the air. I mean…couldn’t have been an easier shot to make.”

“You’re….you’re nearby?”
“Somewhat.” Came the voice. “But you can relax. You are in no danger right now.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.” Came the voice. “I am strong enough to admit when I was beaten. And you and your family beat me this time.”
“Castle? Sherman?”

“Neither.” Came the voice before it gave a long sigh. “Allow me to set you straight. Stand up first and stop looking like a panicked worm.”

Slowly, Selena drew herself to her feet.

“Much better. You deserve to be standing on such a happy day.”
“ You said you were going to set me straight.”
“Precisely.” It replied. “To put to you simply: I’m responsible for Fredric finding Deanna in the tavern of Oberwesel that night. And I’m responsible for him having Deanna convicted, as well as every lawyer from here to Frankfurt turning you down when you initially lost the case.”

Selena’s eyes widened. “How?!” she asked. “How could you be-“
“Not important.” Claimed the voice. “All you need to know is that everything has been because of me.”

“Then why did you wait?!” Selena asked, gripping her phone tighter. “Why did you wait till after Amiliah was born? You could have had Fredric came at us in a moment!”
“Yes, but what good would that do?” mocked the voice. “The smartest person waits for their investments to grow before cashing out. I waited until you were at your happiest – with your sister, Regan, your now three children, and your wife….before taking them away.”

And now the anger was replacing the fear.

“So you are responsible for Deanna being arrested. Knowing she was innocent.” Selena asked, her voice deadpan.
“Exactly.”
“And Talia’s car accident? The invasion on the castle grounds?”
“All me…well, and some people I managed to hire.”
“So why are you telling me this?” the platinum-blonde asked curtly.

“So that you can enjoy this while you can, Selena.” The voice replied. “Like I said, why take you down now when you’re still recovering from loss? No… I want you to be happy. I want you to go and become World Champion like you said. Hell, go and headline Rise to Greatness. Go and move back to your ‘forever house’. I want you to reach a point of normalcy and genuine happiness with Deanna… Then… then… I’ll be there to take it all away.”

“Why?!” yelled Selena into the device. “What did any of us do to you?!”

The line was silent for a moment, before an answer seeped into Selena’s ear.

“Not yet.” Came the reply. “You’re not ready to know…”

“Well, I’m done listening to you anyway!” Selena pressed. “Soon my family will be out of this country and out of your reach!”

“Were you out of Malcolm Scythe’s reach when you were in Manhattan?”

Selena’s jaw clenched, too emotional to answer that question.

“The end is coming…” came the voice. “You can’t stop it – you’ve only delayed it. But it is coming for you, Selena. And when it does… things will finally be made right.”

The line went dead, leaving Selena in a cold dread as she looked around the castle grounds, expecting a killer of some kind to pop out of nowhere and kill her then and there.

Things will finally be made right…

“Be careful what you wish for…” she growled under her breath. A dragon is at its most dangerous when it’s backed into a corner…protecting what’s hers…

She turned and made her way to where her family was, trying to drive the voice and its threats out of her mind. Whether it was some crazed fan or stalker or a combination of both… no, she was done giving people like that any kind of power.

Whatever came there way, she would handle it…and she would beat it.

The dark side of the sun had passed… Selena had her sunshine back… and she was never going to lose it again…

The End



COMING SOON: Project Black Ice

_______________________________________________________________

[SnowQueenSCW]

The camera opens up to reveal the interior of the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The seats are empty (though they will soon be filled) and a familiar set of arctic-blue and white lights illuminate the wrestling ring located in the center of the area. And as the camera changes to another shot, one closer to the ring, a slight change is noticed. Rather than sitting in the middle of the ring as usual at the start, the Snow Queen is standing against the ropes, her hands grasping them as she leans on the supporting wrapped structures, her eyes taking in the empty seats as the lights illuminate her black and snowflake-embroidered wrestling attire.
 
Selena Frost vs Syren…
Syren vs. Selena Frost…

Her voice is clear despite the camera catching her expression of deep contemplation.

You can rephrase it and paraphrase it, read it forward, read it backwards, write it down on paper and turn it towards a mirror so it gets inverted, you cannot deny the magnitude of such a match. Her hands tighten against the ropes.

I mean, we have not even begun the road to Rise to Greatness, and yet here we are! This is a match that could very well be worthy of such a pay-per-view! The supposed “Face of SCW” against the supposed “Standard Bearer of SCW”! She lifts a hand, imagining the marquee that such a match could fill on the electronic billboards.

I mean, this match has happened, what? Once? Maybe two or three before in my entire career? During the first Best of the Best tournament six years ago and an episode of Breakdown about a year after that? And we all remember what happened a month and a half ago. But now? Here we are, the first ever Pay-Per-View that will see us fight one-on-one! And while I can’t wait to hear Syren tell the world why this match shouldn’t happen or that I’m beneath her or maybe she’ll throw me some blatant lie where she pretends to ‘respect me’ like she did last time we fought one on one, she’d be a fool to ignore the implications of a match like this.

Turning around, Selena releases the ropes and takes a deep breath, gazing down at her hands.

See, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to put myself right in Syren’s supposed “destined” path towards the World title. I decided to start working towards, for a third time, becoming the SCW World Champion.

And even though it’s been a while, even I know what beating someone like Syren would be a huge step in that direction – hell, the winner of this match would have taken a huge step in that direction! So, to say that this match, first of its kind on a pay-per-view scale, is going to shake the foundation of the World Title contender standings? Pretty easy to believe, isn’t it?

She gives a shake of her head, her platinum locks moving a little with the movement. But as we set up for such a historic match, one that could shake the very foundations of SCW, I find myself wondering who we should be thanking for such a match? Selena gives a slight shrug as she looks around the arena.

I mean, the match was made my Mr. D., spurned on by weeks and weeks of me coming out here and demanding a chance to fight Syren one on one and being refused by both Syren and CHBK time and time again. So, really, who do we thank? Do I thank the boss? Do I take the credit myself? Do I thank all of you for making your voices heard loud and clear? She motions towards the camera, to the fans she knows are watching.

Hard to say. But, I know who Syren wants me to thank…

Syren wants me to bend the knee and kneel. Gracefully, Selena bows down, kneeling in front of the camera, her eyes on it. Syren wants me to praise her. To thank the ‘ever generous Syren and CHBK’ that they have agreed to grant me this opportunity for a match, right? Because this is ‘the great Syren’, right? The woman with ‘bigger fish to fry’? The woman ‘destined to make history by winning the world title more times than any superstar in the history of SCW!’. And you heard her, what three weeks ago? Heard her say what she deserves as ‘the most decorated wrestler in SCW’?

Clicking her tongue a little inside her mouth, Selena shakes her head as she gets to her feet, a smile forming on her lips.

Cause that’s what this all started as according to you, right, Syren? Respect? You came around and started shoving lines in my face at how I “don’t respect you and never respected you”, right? That I have never taken a match with you seriously, right?

Let me tell you a little story about respect, Syren… Selena’s eyes narrow.

You go back about 6 years or so, and I was put in a match called “The Elimination Chamber”…

Across the ring from me? A stable known as Monarchy. With members like Chris Cannon, Trinity Street and Lucas Knight.She gestures from one corner to the other. And beside me? It was Ravyn Taylor… and you.

Now, I doubt you remember that night, Syren, because you seem to have an issue remembering what I said two or three weeks when you do a damn promo, but let me continue the stroll down memory and lane, and don’t worry! If you don’t believe me, just actually watch the show. Under Attack 2015, it’s there, trust me. she shrugs.

But back to the match. You, me and Ravyn vs Monarchy. And during that match, there was a moment where I had a choice. A moment where I saw you, Syren, on your hands and knees and Trinity Street charging right at you…ready to punt kick you hard enough to cave your chest in with what Sharper declared “would have taken Syren out”.

And in that moment, I made the chose to push you out of the way and, literally, take the bullet for you.

Her hands on her hips, Selena releases a small laugh, shaking her head as she walks around the ring.
And for about six or so years, I’ve never been asked why I did it. Never been asked why I, as Sharper said, “saved Syren’s career” that night. Again, his words, go and watch it if you don’t believe me.

But as for why I ‘saved you’, Zoe, I’m going to tell you now because it’s important you understand. I didn’t do it so you would ‘owe me one’. I didn’t do it so I could hold it over your head. I didn’t do it to prove something…

I did it because I respected you, Syren. I did it because I believed in you.

The Snow Queen crosses her arms over her chest.

That night, there was no doubt in my mind. You were the leader of our group. You were the greatest superstar in SCW. The legend, the icon, the future Hall of Famer. And I knew that if anyone could finish the job and win that match, not just for you, or me, or Ravyn but for SCW, it was you!

That is how much I believed in you, Syren. Enough to risk my own ‘just-beginning’ career. That is how much I respected you. she points a sharp finger to the camera.

And maybe, in spite of everything you’ve done in the past, there was a part of me that was still in that past when we first faced - when we fought over a month ago on that episode of Breakdown. Because, despite everything that had happened at the hands of you and Infamous, I tried to truly understand you. I tried to understand how someone like you, so close to achieving the impossible, would walk away from a bona fide opportunity as that gauntlet match for the world title.

Out of respect for you, I tried to understand your mentality because all I wanted was the chance to see how I stacked up against the supposed “best in all of SCW”.

And how did you respond, Syren? You threw a tantrum that I ‘didn’t get it’, and for the last few weeks, you’ve stated that I’m not a ‘legit competitor’? That I don’t respect you? Tell me something, Syren, how did our singles match go? This should be easier for you to recall. It was only a little over a month ago.

Another shrug comes from Selena, not really waiting for an answer. I gave you everything I had. I brought no one but myself. I fought tooth and nail, fang and claw for every moment and inch that I could get against you. Because if I was going to beat the supposed ‘best’, the self-proclaimed ‘measuring stick’? I was going to do on my own abilities. That was how much I respected you.

And in that moment, when I was fighting to lock in the Frost’s Bite on you, my mind was racing with a thousand thoughts! What would it mean if I did beat Syren clean? What if I took on everything the supposed ‘standard’ threw at me and overcame it?

Would it say anything bad about Syren? How could it? When it comes to ability and accolades, Syren, you’re practically untouchable! You’re a Hall of Famer, multiple records of multiple titles, more Rise to Greatness main-events than practically anyone. Certainly more than me. a sad smile crosses the Snow Queen’s features.

Beating you would have said little bad about you, Syren, but it would have said so much about how far I have come. From the girl that was little more than a meat-shield to protect you to being able to stand in the ring with you and beat you. a pale hand tightens into a fist.

But the Syren I fought wasn’t the Syren that I saved all those years ago, was it? No, the Syren that I fought was someone that, for years, had had her fascade chipping off the more she wrestled. The Syren that, the more she fought, the more her words started becoming lies. Her attitude started changing into complacency. And finally, one day a couple of years ago, that fascade fell and the world saw past the “Syren fascade” that everyone, including me, had fallen for.

And that was when Syren became the real Zoe Sperling: a self-entitled, whining little bitch.

The Snow Queen’s tone grows colder as she glares at the camera.

You say I don’t respect you, Syren? You’re right. I don’t respect you now, Zoe, because when the time came for you to respect me in that ring? When the time came for you to show respect to someone that had respected you for years, you couldn’t do it. You couldn’t even give me one match. You brought CHBK and Ravyn to the ring. You had CHBK interfere and save your ass and then, when it all came to a head at Retribution… you spit on me. the slight growl in her voice can be heard.

Yet, you stand there in front of a camera and cry on your blog and say I’M not a legit competitor? I’M the one being disrespectful? I’m not taking you seriously? Selena gives a laugh before shaking her head.

I’ll give you this, Syren, you managed to piss me off when you said that. Because you read the contracts that I filled out and all the stipulations I offered to you and you thought that I wasn’t taking you seriously.

You got it wrong, Syren. I’m the only one out of the two of us that is taking this seriously. I’m the only one that was willing to put whatever the hell you wanted from me on the line just to get you to come out and give me a match. The reason why the offers got more ridiculous, Syren, is because you let them become more ridiculous. Because if you were taking me seriously, taking a match with me seriously,  one contract would have been all that was needed. One, Syren. A pale hand holds up a finger, symbolizing the spoken number.

But no. I wasn’t worth discussing, was I? I wasn’t worth considering contracts to you, was I, Zoe? And rather than actually respect me or take ME seriously, you basically passed me over time and time again while throwing the “Infamous generic one-liners” at me.

You don’t believe me? Let me try and guess the main points you have cause I’ve heard them so many times:

“Golden Girl”
“Always handed opportunities”
“Spotlight hog”
“Title whore”
“Liar and manipulator”
“Steals from other superstars”
And, of course, more so because it’s you, Syren: “Disney, Disney, Disney Disney.”

A laugh escapes the Snow Queen at the insults she’s heard, especially from members of Infamous, since day one of her time in SCW.

And believe me, Zoe, I’m excited to see just how many times you can say those same insults as I play “Infamous Bingo” backstage while I’m watching you, but, at the same time, with you, it’s different.

Because, you’re not Christy Matthews. You’re not Ravyn Taylor. You are Syren. You’re the person that’s supposedly so high up on the hierarchy, looking down on the rest of us, that you’re untouchable. And with you, Zoe, it’s 100% more hypocritical and 100% more frustrating.

The Snow Queen crosses her arms as she stands in place.

And really, that’s what bothers me the most about this, Zoe. You, of all people – you, who have failed against newer talent like Owen Cruze and Jordan Majors because you underestimated them. You, who have looked down on so many people, just to get upset – hell, a few weeks ago, you and Christy lost to a brand new, rookie, tag-team on Breakdown, didn’t you?

You, after all that… you get on your blog or in front of a camera and use the same, tired, insults I’ve heard over and over again that every entitled person here has used against me before you. You, with all your years of experience, good and bad, and all your accomplishments and all your skills, have the gall to just wave me by like that. To dismiss me and say that THAT is ‘good enough’ against someone like me?

I didn’t understand that, initially. Because the one original thing you said about me over a month ago, Syren, was that my name should be with other World Title Contenders. That, while it made you sick to admit, Selena Frost is a world-title contender…

As if confused, the platinum-blonde gives a shake of her head. See, that’s what baffled me originally, Syren. That you’d say I was at that level but then say I didn’t deserve a match with you?

But as the weeks went by, it started making sense. Because you need to keep me at the level, don’t you, Syren? You need me to be ‘undeserving’ to face you. You need to only use ‘one-liners’ that were dumb in 2013 now to keep me OUT of the World title picture, because why, oh why should SCW invest in a…

She smiles.

Well…insert Syren one-liner insult about me here. And you need that to stay the same because now? It’s no longer no real loss to you if I beat you. Now, if you lose to me, I not only remain in your way for the World title, I STAY in your way! And that terrifies you, doesn’t it, Zoe? Bad enough you had me to deal with in a singles match just for competition, but now to have me in your path, preventing you from making history?

The reason you never signed any of those contracts wasn’t because you had ‘bigger fish to fry’ or whatever. The reason why you never signed a contract to face me, Syren, was that you knew that if you did and CHBK wasn’t there to hold your hand or bail you out like every other time…

The Snow Queen snaps her fingers.

Everything you’ve been bragging about? Everything you’ve been trying to prove with your methods? Disappears like that. And suddenly, the little girl that wasn’t worth more of your time than a “Disney joke”? Suddenly, that little girl is ahead of you. Suddenly, you don’t go back to square one… oh no. You STAY at square one and I springboard ever closer to the title you can’t live without!

And that idea, that’s what really makes you sick, doesn’t it? It’s not some cliché line like my catchphrases or the clothes I wear or the things I say. No, Zoe, what makes you sick to your stomach when you think of me is the very real possibility that I can beat you and more than that, when push comes to shove, I can do what you do far better than you can. a knowing smirk graces Selena’s lips.

I mean, let’s talk about that, Zoe! A couple of weeks ago, you claimed that I am barely here in SCW, right? That while I “walk around in the back” and “beg for attention”, you’re in the ring, what was it you said? “Every damn night wrestling and performing”?

The smirks turns into a small laugh. I found that interesting considering the weeks you refused to fight me, but I did some checking to see if that line had any validity, Zoe, and you know what I found out? So far this year? You’ve wrestled on SIX episodes of Breakdown. You know how many episodes I wrestled?

The sly grin returns. Six.

Yeah, hard to see your logic when the numbers don’t lie. While you’re out there and online, bragging about “showing up to work”, I’m here doing the exact same thing you’re doing. The biggest difference? I don’t need six or seven people at ringside holding my hand to do my job!

Every match I’ve had, I’ve come in here, fought with all I had, all my heart and soul, on my own, in this ring and I’ve done it with only my own drive to help me keep up with the amazing talents like David Helms and Chris Cannon and Glory Braddock, just to name a few.

Selena looks around for a moment before settling on the camera. You? You stroll into Breakdown, whine and cry backstage and in the ring and if you so happen to fight? You half-ass it until Infamous INEVITABLY steps in and does the job for you when you can’t hack it!

Selena holds a hand up, as if silencing someone. But oh! According to you? It’s okay to screw people out of matches and screw with me because I’m the underserving one. I’m the one that’s “handed everything I’ve ever been given”, right? I’m the one that’s ‘stealing the spotlight from people like you because I’m a fame-hog, right?’

A scoff escapes her. Putting aside you laughing in my face almost two weeks ago about you “deserving to have CHBK hand-pick your opponents”? I’m going set you straight right here and now, Syren:

I’ve not held the world championship since the end of 2017.

Nearly four years, Zoe, and in that time, never – NOT ONCE – did SCW management ‘pick me’ or ‘select me’ or ‘hand me’ a chance at the world title. Not one time did SCW ‘choose’ me as someone to try and get a contendership for the world title. It didn’t matter if I beat Xander Valentine in record time, or beat him again in a Last Person Standing match, or ripped my way through a damn tournament. It just didn’t happen. And maybe that’s on me, maybe that wasn’t enough for management to look my way.

But then there’s you… again, sapphire eyes narrow as Selena holds up a hand to count the instances.

Learning from History 2018? You were handed a world championship match that you never earned by manipulating Mr. D. with Ravyn and CHBK.
Rise to Greatness 2018. You were picked to be part of a number one contender match for the World title.
Making Things Right 2019. You had Katya give you a golden opportunity for the World Championship by robbing the rightful contender in Cassidy Carter.
Under Attack 2019. You were gifted a world championship match inside the chamber.
Clarity 2019. You were granted a world title match in double jeopardy.

Her head giving a little jerk, Selena lowers her arm. In case you haven’t counted it out, Syren? You were handed more world title opportunities by SCW management in two years time than I’ve gotten in EIGHT!

Yet you stand there and accuse SCW of ‘passing you by” and being ‘held back’ by someone like me? That I’m just ‘desperate’ for a title.

You’re right, Syren. I am desperate to be World Champion, because, unlike you, I haven’t been given a chance over and over and over again. I haven’t been handed a damn thing where you have been handed EVERYTHING!

Selena takes a few breaths to calm herself. And for four years, I’ve had to wait on the sidelines and watch you, a loudmouth ingrate, bitch and, despite SCW bending over backwards for you, it’s never enough. It’s now either ‘too hard’ or ‘unfair’ or “not perfect enough’, right?

With a yell, Selena kicks the ropes, causing them to shake. It’s a slap in the face, Syren, to someone like me, who has to work for over a year and half to get ANY kind of title opportunity and you, getting opportunity over opportunity and still demanding more!

You haven’t the first damn clue about being ‘passed over’, You’ve been the lion at the top of the mountain. Roaring and roaring while your pride gift wrap everything for you, from wins to title matches. ‘Bring me titles! Bring me challengers! Bring me everything!’.

Me?

I’m the hyena clawing at every single opportunity I get because I don’t know when the next one is going to be. I don’t know if there will EVER be another opportunity for me. So am I going to dive into an opportunity even when the odds are near impossible like the gauntlet? You’re damn right I am! Am I going to take what little I’m given in this business and make it worthwhile with all I am like I did defending the United States Championship every time I had a match in my first reign? You better believe it!

That’s how I’ve functioned here  in SCW, and in those four years, Syren, I fought through hell to become a two-time United States Championship, risking my life cages and scaffolds while you hid behind a BS ‘neck injury’ to keep your reign alive. I was honored to represent SCW in the God of Wrestling tournament, while you sat on your ass and twiddled your thumbs. I teamed with my sister, Regan, to make one of the most unlikely tag-teams in SCW history and CONQUERED the SCW tag-team division, beating even you and Ravyn, using it to be part of a tournament that gave the division the focus it so deeply deserved. I won tournaments like Trios and the US title tournament. I was the second last match at Rise to Greatness for three years straight, just to name a few of the things I did.

I took what little scraps SCW gave me and made it into something great because they- she gestures to the sea of seats within the arena. They deserved nothing less than the best I can give them every single night. They deserve it and I deserve it.

Slowing her pace, Selena turns back to the camera.

But, according to you, my success has nothing to do with that mentality. No, you say that the only reason for all of my success has been because of you. That all I’ve done was only possible because of you and Ravyn Taylor and Christy Matthews ‘paving the way for me’. That’s what you said right? That the girls of Infamous ‘paved the way for little, ol’ me’?

Reaching up to scratch her head, Selena gives it a shake before continuing.

You know that’s interesting, Syren, but I think you’re missing a few people in that little conversation. I could start with Katie Steward, the woman that SHATTERED the glass ceiling for women like us. I don’t like her, and I don’t think I ever will, but while you were content just going after the women’s and tag titles? She was breaking the ceiling by being the first woman to be WORLD Champion. Yet she’s not on your list?

Alright. How about Rachel Foxx? A woman that showed not only how tough women can be but how violent and dominant, reinventing the Underground division for women that don’t fit your ‘beauty queen mold’. Where’s she on your list, Syren?

Okay, what about Stacy Kissinger? Celestie Camini? Liana Lewis? Women that held singles title deemed “men divisions”, including the tag-titles, long before you even thought to try? Where are they on your list, Syren?

Slowly, almost ashamed of her future opponent, Selena shakes her head. Eight years I’ve been here, Zoe. And you know what I’ve seen in those eight years? I’ve seen Christy Matthews take the highest honor SCW can give someone – the Hall of Fame membership – and spit in their face. I’ve seen her and Ravyn play “hot potato” with the tag titles from Zero Fucks to Give just so they could say “we’ve held the tag titles!”. I’ve seen every member of Infamous take handout after handout in trying to beat me and countless others that deserve so much more!

But most of all, like I pointed out, I’ve seen you manipulate lives and ruin families just so you can be handed the world  title – just so you can hold it a little longer in your desperate hands. But you say you ‘broke the glass ceiling for the rest of us?

No, Syren. You crawled through the hole that Kate Steward made and then you set yourself up there with Infamous and Pinnacle and then Infamous again to KEEP you there and the rest of us out!

So when I say that I’ve been successful, Zoe, it’s not because of you. No, I’ve been successful in this business IN SPITE of you! the scene grows quiet as Selena’s words sink in.

Because for eight years, that’s how I’ve worked here, Syren. That’s how I’ve existed here. Good, bad, or otherwise. And while everyone else, from you to Owen Cruze have buckled when things got tough – have sold out and taken the easy path, I’ve never faltered in my beliefs, I’ve never sold out my beliefs, and I’ve NEVER given up on the SCW or the SCW Universe!

And when you take it all away, Syren. When you take away the names and the catchphrases and the accolades – take it ALL away until it’s only Zoe and Selena standing eye to eye? That’s the biggest thing you can’t stand about me, isn’t it?

I was there, Zoe. I was there over two years ago, when you lied and cheated your way to another world title at Learning From History – when you used the manipulations of CHBK and Ravyn because it got you what you wanted. And I watched as you stood there and told the world the same thing over and over again. The same excuse you’ve been declaring since that day and every time someone’s called you out on your crap.

“Anyone else would have done it if they were in my place.”

It’s been your excuse. Your ‘go to’. Your crutch to try and justify every person you’ve hurt. Every wrestler you’ve cheated. Every rule you’ve bent. Every single time you’ve betrayed the very ideals of SCW. “You all would have done it too!”

But you’re wrong, Zoe. Not everyone would have done it. Not everyone would do it.

Not me.

The platinum-blonde rests a hand over her heart. I’m the one person that can look at you and say that, just like I’m the one person that can say you’re not “THE standard bearer of SCW”.

You’re just “A standard bearer of SCW”.

You are a standard that screams that it doesn’t matter how good you are or how hard you train or how much you put into it: blood, sweat, tears, broken bones, missed time with our families. Long as you have enough people holding your hand and fighting your battles for you, you can win any title, win any match, do anything.

Selena sets her hand to a level close to the mat.

That may be your standard, Zoe, and might be a standard that many others have adopted in their time here in SCW at, at least, one point or another… but it is not my standard. It is not how I choose to have my career defined. It is not how I choose to live my life!

I refuse to have so low a bar as my standard, Zoe. Not when I can do so much more… She raises her hand closer to where her head is. At this standard.

Slowly, Selena lowers her arm. Eight long years, I have overcome every single person that has stepped in my way. I have conquered every division, won every tournament there is to win. I have fractured bones, bled, passed out, been ripped apart but I have overcome every person that has stepped in my path…

Except you. Sapphire eyes glare into the camera. Never have I had that defining moment of standing above Zoe Sperling, of standing above Syren, having beaten her on my own and showed the difference in our standards! she looks around the arena before settling back on the camera.

Tonight? I finally get my chance. Whether you think I deserve it or not, I finally get my chance to cross that line. To do what may be impossible in your eyes but not in mine! And like the hyena I am, Syren, I’m not going by your standard. I’m not going to toss this opportunity aside like you did simply because ‘it’s too hard’ or ‘not perfect enough’. Simply because it could easily be one of the toughest matches in my career.

No, I am going to do what I know I can do – what I know SCW truly stands for. I am going to bite, scratch, and claw my way up until I am reaching that bar – until I am reaching that standard that surpasses yours! The standard that belongs to me!

And then I’m going to surpass that one too and set up a NEW standard before the match is through!

So you can either join me at the top, or I can drag your ass as high as it can go and then watch you fall back to the ground where your standard is. But either way, Syren, the SCW Universe WILL get what we DO deserve… Selena’s glare drills into the camera, to the woman she knows is watching.

The SCW Universe – the True Believers - will get our answer. I will get my answer. And, whether you or CHBK believe it or not… I will know that I am BETTER than you!

Believe it, Zoe. Because I refuse to settle for anything less!

The camera fades on the Snow Queen, eventually going completely to black.

[Syren]

Lots of fun working on this. The CD picks up where the last one left off.

Enjoy.



The Syren Song: Verse 330
"You’re interrupting me while I’m trying to have some alone time"