Kandis vs. Selena Frost

[supremecw]

Kandis vs. Selena Frost
SCW World Championship

Retribution 2024

2 RP Limit
Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET SUNDAY, March 3, 2024

[SnowQueenSCW]

OOC: Takes place at the same time as Deanna’s roleplay. Frozen Central is a private email sent to the recipient, so it is not publicly released.

DISCLAIMER: The following is a work of fiction and not to be confused as complete or accurate representation of any beliefs, religions, etc. Please refer to research/articles by experts for that.

Villain of the Year

”Any Crash You Can Walk Away From”

The Edison Ballroom
New York, New York
February 24th, 2024
8:14pm

She could hear the classical musical playing even through the walls of her stall, albeit just barely, the faint notes of the Victorian-style songs whispering into her ear, interrupted only when her stomach convulsed, causing her to retch into the porcelain once again.

She rode the familiar sensation out, letting her stomach empty the last of its contents – she, herself, feeling more like she was simply ‘watching’ her body go through this or some kind of ‘distant-mind’ effect. Instead, she focused more on the cool porcelain her forehead was resting against, taking what little comfort and distraction she could from the sensation. She felt her hands slowly release their ‘death-grip’ from around the white bowl, her dark-blue, manicured nails slightly scrapping across the surface (not enough to scratch but just enough to make a sound), as her body calmed itself from its vomiting episode.

She didn’t move right away. She knew she still had time. Let her have her moment a little longer… she willed herself to comply, letting the seconds tick away a little without letting her frustrations, or her nerves (as was the cause of her current episode of throwing up), get the better of her.

Since learning of the order of events that had occurred from her father, Selena Frost had worked tirelessly, orchestrating her next move – this move – in retaliation. Did she care that the Alden-family was throwing a party? Not really. Did she care that she hadn’t been the smartest student in her class? Not at all. Did she care that Deanna had been? Yes and no. She was certainly proud of her wife, that much she could assess about herself, but there was a mix of other emotions swirling in there like a puddle of mud that she couldn’t discern.

Actually, that was the perfect analogy when it came to her feelings for her beloved redhead. An indiscernible, dirty pile of emotions. Like how she couldn’t think of her without such words as ‘beloved’ and ‘adorable’ and yet also couldn’t help but feel frustration and, even, anger when it came to the woman.

It was all Deanna’s fault things had eroded like this in the first place. Why couldn’t she see that and accept responsibility for it? She had been the one that had pushed for Selena’s return to Supreme Championship Wrestling more than anyone. Yes, the SCW executives, management and, Selena was sure, even CHBK, himself, had played their part with using her name and legacy for their own benefit but how was that any different than Kandis? The woman had been using her one victory over the Snow Queen at Rise to Greatness over and over again like a broken record-player, even taking credit for ‘driving Selena out of SCW’ for a time – the world champion scoffed at the idea. As if that big-assed porn star had THAT ability.

She’s not good enough or smart enough to do something like that… she thought bitterly. And yet, she had to sit through every promo and every time Kandis opened her mouth or tweeted on X. It had taken so much of her patience not to just beat her to the ground senseless like she had done to Religious Wright shortly after her return.

Not yet… she felt the voice in her mind – familiar and darker, a mixture of hers and Malcolm. Her ‘devil-voice’, she referred to it as. Don’t give into that need yet… patience… enjoy it…

Again, Selena exhaled, forcing her emotions to settle once more. It had been worth it to wait. It WAS worth it to wait. To see Kandis smashing monitors and cursing at everyone and throwing her tantrums, with Selena outsmarting her every step of the way. Now? All the pieces were in place.

She had her official in Aaron Demitria.
She had her match for Retribution.
She had the world title.
Everything she had been waiting for since choosing to return… it was all set. Now, she just needed to wait a week until they were in the ring and the bell rang. And then…

She heard the sound of someone washing their hands outside her stall and then walking away, forcing her to return her focus to the present and her current position of being hunched over a toilet. Slowly, she pushed herself up, grabbing at the toilet-paper from the dispenser and pulling enough of the poor excuse for paper to wipe her mouth. That task accomplished, as well as cleaning up after herself, the young woman exited the stall and moved over to the refined marble sink, letting her hands rest upon the smooth surface as she gazed at herself in the mirror. Seeing her own reflection, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her makeup hadn’t been smudged or ruined by her little episode in the stall. Carefully, the platinum-blonde turned on the sink and, using her hand, scooped up the cold water to sip from in order to rinse her mouth out. She was certain she looked quite the sight – with her hair done in its French-braid and her backless, black, sequined dress hunched over, drinking from the sink.

Please… she scoffed at her slight twinge of embarrassment. Better than on my back with my legs in the air…

One more ‘rinse and spit’ and she carefully pushed herself up again to, once more, check at her own reflection. Much like with Kandis, Selena had laid out her plans for this moment and she didn’t want one thing to go wrong, including how she appeared before the masses. Or before Deanna…

Again, a steady breath came to calm her, as well as a reminder of the aforementioned truth: that this was really all her wife’s fault. Yes, Selena loved her – loved her more than anything – but it had been Deanna that had come home with her schemes and little games, the redhead pushing and playing with the platinum-blonde in trying to get her to talk about SCW and to come back. Part of her, Selena had to admit, still wasn’t sold on her wife being ‘totally oblivious’ to the board’s ‘mistakes’ and uses of Selena’s name. She must have said something or done something off camera or…something… the woman thought.

It didn’t matter. The paths they now walked, with Selena going her own way – Deanna was at fault for that. She had warned the younger Frost that there would be consequences for Selena’s return, even in their marriage. The redhead hadn’t listened and now? Now, she was just acting on emotion and irrationality. She couldn’t see the bigger picture.

What SCW was doing. What the SCW Universe was doing. What they were really like. The same things applied to the Aldens.

She will… in time. her devil-voice reminded. You just have to give her time… and play your hand when it’s time to.

Giving a nod to her own reflection, Selena pushed herself away from the counter, walking out of the polished and gorgeous bathroom and back into the main lobby of The Edison Ballroom. She could see the group of people, many dressed in various forms of clothing, from high-end to even street-wear, but she did not spend too much time taking them all in. Instead, her eyes focused on the small dish sitting on top of the receptionist black-stone desk. She could just make out the multi-colored wrappers of mints. With a quick glide of her hand, she scooped up a pair of the candies, unwrapping them and plopping them into her mouth, letting the flavor and smell slowly overtake any lingering scents of stomach acid.

As she did, she saw the young woman, perhaps a year or two younger than her, approach her. Like her, she wore a dress, but far more simple - a solid color of red – and her hair was merely combed back and in waves, probably dried with a hair-dryer.

“This really happening?” she asked, earning a nod from Selena.

“Right now.” Selena remarked as she adjust her braid over her shoulder. “You know when to move?”

“When you snap your fingers.” The young girl replied, earning a nod from Selena, who turned around and began to walk the way she came, moving further into the building until she stood at the massive doors that lead to the actual ‘ballroom’. She heard, rather than saw, the numerous feet walking behind her, causing a surge of power to fill her and run up her spine. Focus! came the voice in her mind. Find the right time!

Slowly, Selena placed her hands on the handles of the door, letting the sounds on the opposite fill her… except their were no sounds. There was no music. Only one voice… A voice she recognized immediately.

“I came here, to be honest, out of an obligation and a past-“ Deanna’s voice rang through – clearly microphoned in the other room, halting Selena’s actions. Not yet! she wasn’t sure which voice had made that order in her mind, hers or the devil’s. But they seemed to be in agreement, which was enough for Selena to relax her grip on the door handles slightly, her focus merely on listening.

“-That was not my own. With not the best of ‘impressions’ on my side, I attended class with some of you, merely wanting to pass and be done with that sense of ‘owing’. And yet… as time went on… I began to feel more. It stopped being a chore or a job or even an obligation. I started to get to know some of you. Your names, your hobbies, your likes and dislikes. I got to know some of the elders. I got to know my teacher, Mrs. Winthrop, and… slowly…”

There was a pause in her speech, and Selena could almost picture her wife taking a moment to compose herself. Once more, that feeling of pride filled the waiting woman. Deanna had worked so hard to do well with her studies, while juggling a career that, if Selena were honest, was on par to be something incredible! She had already held most of the titles in SCW, and her first top-tier title reign (being with the United States Championship) was close to passing Selena’s longest reign with the world title! She was two titles away from being a Supreme Champion and she had nearly become world champion late last year… and still managed to score the highest in her class. The woman was a force of nature, or maybe she had become one… and she’s my wife… came the thought that belonged to Selena.

Even so… that made the older woman’s choices all the more certain. She needed Deanna to see her side. Needed her to understand the situation. Even if they stayed at opposite ends of SCW’s proverbial ‘playground’ for a time. The redhead needed to see that everything Selena was doing was for the best. For herself, for them, for their family…

“You all accepted me in return. You knew me as ‘Deanna’. And I… I wanted to know more of this amazing family known as the Aldens…” she heard an applause come from the crowd in the other room, causing the woman to roll her eyes. These Aldens… she softly growled under her breath. She didn’t trust a single one of them, not even her grandmother or uncle or aunt. They had used her for their own ‘issues’ with her mother, digging up dirt that should have remained buried. If they hadn’t involved Alejandra, Selena’s mother, the Snow Queen would have told them to go rot in a ditch. But Deanna?

She seemed to be swept up in their little world, enjoying her time with the Aldens and what she was learning, as if she had forgotten how they had been forced into this world. It had made no sense to Selena. Couldn’t Deanna see how entitled and ‘elitist’ these people were? Had she learned nothing from Malcolm and Killjoy? Hell, these people were as bad as the Frost/Frostmere clan with their entitlement and arrogance! Anyone could see that! Alejandra had run to Nome just to get away from them! Wasn’t that enough of a red flag?

She doesn’t see it. Came the voice again. But you will show her. Selena nodded her head, clearing her mind in time to catch more of her wife’s speech.

“I am so proud to be the speaker for tonight. I am so proud of what I have learned, the people I have known, and the family that has welcomed me so warmly. And the thanks I feel-“

NOW! Screamed the devil-voice and Selena acted without hesitation, pulling the doors open with all she had. Immediately, like a wave, she saw the closest people turn to look at her first, followed by the rest of the room until all eyes were on her, including the emerald eyes of Deanna, the farthest person looking at her with shock as she stood on the stage behind the podium.

“Well…well…” Selena spoke out as she strolled into the room to stand before the group. “Better late than never, am I right?”

LAME! her mind screamed at her terrible choice of words. That was the best line you could come up with?!

Shushing her mental cursing, the platinum-blonde swept her gaze across the many people, not wishing to keep her eyes on Deanna (that would make this too hard). She spied her mother not too far away, Raphael Alden on the other side of the room, her grandmother, Freya, and her uncle, Caius, and aunt, Sage. They were all dressed in high-end attire, which only further annoyed Selena – these same people who had come, begging her for help, seemed to have no problem in her exclusion after she had done what they asked.

“You Aldens really do throw the most outlandish parties.” She spoke slowly, moving at a matching speed as she walked around the room. “The lights, the music, the food…” reaching down, she plucked up a piece of bruschetta, admiring its color and scent before tossing it away onto the ground behind the table she stood near. “Truly, I’m impressed. But for the well-to-do… the elite, I imagine it isn’t very hard.” Her eyes narrowed at them, judging them all as opposed to one.

“Selena…” the voice was loud, coming from the speakers, which brough the Devil’s eyes up to the podium, quickly seeing the pleading gaze the redhead held. “Can you not…”

“Oh, I’m afraid I must.” Selena smiled. “But first, a round of applause for my wife, Deanna!” she clapped her hands in the silence, earning no support as she stood there. Nobody took their eyes off Selena. Nobody really moved. Good… came the dark thought in her mind. Keep your eyes on me, people…

Slowing her hands, Selena kept her eyes on Deanna. “Very proud of you, sweetheart.” She threw towards the redhead. “You’ve been taken in…” she chuckled, holding a hand over her chest. “Excuse me… You’ve really ‘taken up’ the task of learning and shined as a student. But that’s not really a surprise. She’s quite brilliant, you know.”

There was a pause of silence as Selena’s walk brought her towards the table of champagne flutes. Immediately, without hesitating, she turned away, her body revolting the sight of the alcoholic beverages. “Really brilliant, actually. She was smart enough not to have me be her plus one.” She eyed the masses before locking eyes with Raphael. “I have to admit that was a rather distressing note to not receiving an invitation.”

“You weren’t invited.” Came the cold voice from the old man, who glared down Selena, the annoyance clear in his voice. It only made Selena feel even better, the woman smiling knowingly.

“Oh yes, I am sure. I didn’t ‘make the cut’, did I?” she teased. “I wasn’t part of the ‘top in the class’, was I?” Her smile disappeared as she moved back towards the closed doors she had entered. “Look at all of you…” she glared at the mass, her tone dropping it’s amused expression. “Celebrating being ‘better than everyone else’. And for what? A class of ‘history buffs’? A cult of ‘witches’? You think that puts you ‘above’ the rest of us? Just because you scored high on a few tests?”

She saw their expressions sour more so, the fools thinking that would throw her off… when it was having the opposite effect.

“I came from a small town in Alaska, you know.” She smirked. “A place filled with people just like you. The big fish in the little pond. People that wouldn’t have invited me to such a party either. People that looked down on me when I was just trying to live my life and believe in my father.”

“Selena…” she heard the plead in her wife but only faintly. She was not letting her plan go to waste over something like the begging of her love. No, she was the devil now…

“And yet… those ‘big fishes’?” she shrugged. “They are still in that little pond back in Nome.” She eyed the group once more. “But now? They have to watch me as I live better, richer, and more of a life than they will ever hope to achieve. They have to watch as their town became synonymous with me. As I became a celebrity that their town would only be known for.”

Reaching up, she threw her platinum-blonde braid around and back across her hand with a flick of her wrist. “The point is, the little fish outgrew the big. And since this is supposed to be a ‘graduation party’ – if my wife’s invitation was accurate.” She shouldn’t have, but she threw a wink at Deanna to further her point. It was too tempting not to. “I figured it… why not let all your little fish see the big suckers they are going to outgrow… and leave in the dust!”

With that last word, Selena snapped her fingers as loudly as she could. As the sound travelled, the doors behind her flew open once more. This time, however, it was not one person that entered, or even two… but a mass! A sea of people – a few dozen – that filled the room, causing a series of stunned sounds to come from the invitees! The new arrivals gathered behind Selena, including the woman in red Selena had spoke to earlier. As for the Snow Queen, she did not move until she heard the doors close behind her, slowly turning around to acknowledge the ‘army’ behind her.

“My friends…” she began, overpowering the remarks of the invited guests, including Raphael’s. “Tonight, we honor YOUR graduation from a class that has next to nothing to do with the real world. So, please, eat and drink your full… and meet your supposed ‘betters’!” she eyed the mass of the supposed ‘elite’. “And let them know what you think of their ‘opinions’ of you!”

At that, the crowd behind her charged forward, dispersing in all directions! Some marched, some ran. Some went to the table of food to help themselves. Others ran to the bar to do the same with the champagne flutes. Others still moved to the dance floor to dance with a partner to the music in their heads. The invitees, however, could only voice their displeasure, shouting and yelling at them and at Selena, some even heading for the door, which was fine with the Snow Queen. By the time this was over, the ballroom would be in a mess, the offended non-invites trashing the place as they grew drunker and more bitter at not being invited.

The plan had worked perfectly.

Simply showing up had not been good enough for Selena. Not after all she had done for people she wanted nothing to do with. No. If that was her ‘thanks’ for sticking her neck out and wasting months of her life… then she was going to leave her mark on the Aldens!

For a moment, she spied her mother standing close to the wall, trying to avoid getting involved with anyone. Yet her dark eyes were on Selena and there was no mistaking the look within them: disappointment.

That makes two of us, mother. Selena thought both sadly and bitterly. When you chose to hide this from me…

She eyed Raphael next, though he wasn’t looking at her. He was helping Deanna off the stage, much to Selena’s surprise. Still, his party was ruined and his plan, whatever it had been, was foiled. The man would be embarrassed and that was enough for the Snow Queen. Caius and Sage held similar glances Selena’s way as Alejandra had, but Freya?

Selena saw the older woman standing near her… and approaching.

“How dare you.” The old woman whispered. “To shame us like this!”

Despite the condescending tone, Selena didn’t feel intimidated like she had before when she had first met her grandmother. Instead, she felt enraged.

“How dare I?” she asked coldly. “How dare you.” She hissed. “You ungrateful bitch.”

The insult must have shocked the older woman, for her mouth hung open. Still, Selena pressed on.

“I solved your little problem and THIS is how you thank me? This is how you repay me?” she eyed Freya. “I didn’t need any of this or any of you. You came to me. You and your kids came to me. And without me, you wouldn’t have Deanna, and you wouldn’t even be here in this charter anymore, would you?” She leaned forward. “So, watch your tone, Freya.” She emphasized the woman’s name. “Because you now OWE me EVERYTHING!”

She watched the woman shrink back, her words striking more than nerves. She had felt a similar sensation when she had stood in the ring after striking down Asher Hayes with a single kick, knowing she was the next in line for the world title shot… and nobody – not CHBK, not management… and sure as hell not Kandis… able to do anything to stop it!

With a smirk, she turned her back on the masses. They would ensure the party utterly ended the way she desired it to. She was no longer needed for that. Her work was done. With one last glance at her ‘work’, the Blue-Eyed Devil headed for the door, taking the few steps needed as the noise from the party, now in complete disarray and utter bedlam filled her ears.

She had not taken more than a few steps into the lobby when she felt a hand on her bare shoulder, just under the dress that tied around her neck to stay upright. Immediately, she was spun around, her surprise temporary as she beheld the red-face expression of her irate wife.

“Why?!” Deanna barked, but Selena merely smiled at her with a tilt of her head, genuinely amused.
“This is a rare sight.” She remarked earnestly. “Now it’s YOUR face that matches the color of your hair!”

It wasn’t as amusing or fun to Deanna as it was with Selena, the redhead stepping forward to stare down the Snow Queen. “Why?!” She asked again. “You gain nothing from this!”

“Not quite.” Selena spoke, looking around the lobby. “I’m just being exactly what you thought I’d be.”
“What does that mean?”
“You didn’t invite me to share in this moment with you. Even to be your plus one.”
“Cause I knew you’d ruin it!” Deanna shot back.
“And that’s exactly what I did.” Selena shrugged. “Might as well be the monster you think I am.”

Her mouth hung open a little and the color faded a bit from her face. “That’s your excuse?” she finally asked. “That’s how you justify ruining this for me?” She looked around the lobby for a moment, the noises from the ballroom fading from their attention as the doors closed behind Deanna. “This was something for me… Something I could be proud of! Something that, for once, did NOT have to involve ‘the great’ Selena Frost’!”

“Like in SCW?” Selena narrowed her eyes at the redhead. “I still have stayed away from you regarding that. Haven’t done a thing to get in your way, have I?” she laughed. “You think I couldn’t get a shot at you and take your title if I wanted to?” again, a laugh escaped her. “Don’t be stupid, Deanna.”

“I’m not stupid!” the redhead shot back. “And this isn’t about work!”

“No, it isn’t, but the situation is the same! You blaming me for your actions!”
“YOU DID THIS!” Deanna fired back. “I didn’t make you do this!”

The taller woman scoffed. “Really? Because who was it that lied to me? Who was it that hid this from me? Who couldn’t just be honest?”
“So I need to tell you everything?!”
“No, but if you’re deliberately hiding shit from me-“
“FUCK YOU!”

The curse was loud and actually stunned Selena, coming from Deanna with such ferocity that it brought tears to the redhead’s eyes.

“You can’t do this to me!” she half-cried, half-yelled. “You walked out on me! You left me! Now you’re punishing me for doing the best I can without you!”

“Except you’re not.” Selena replied coldly. “I left because you wanted me back in SCW – despite me warning you this would happen. You lied to me about this, so here I am. At some point, Deanna, you need to start accepting responsibility for your actions.”
“Look who’s talking!”

“I can talk!” Selena shot back strongly. “I accept my actions are making me hated in SCW and here. I accept that. The fans are fickle but I could easily win them over if I just act like Kandis. Dress slutty, swear a lot? Win by ‘hook or crook’? You think I couldn’t do any of that? It be easy! I refuse to. I want to be the best on MY terms. Because of that, I am hated. I accept that. It’s my choice and my consequence! But I rather be honest with myself than pander to those fickle idiots!”

“Oh so I’m pandering to them because they like me?”

“No. But they’ll turn on you soon enough.” Selena shrugged. “Only a matter of time. You won’t even have to do anything wrong. When hating you is ‘more fun’ than supporting and believing in you? They’ll shift and you won’t even know why.”

The redhead seemed a little taken aback but refused to be distracted. “So…you just get to show up, ruin anything of mine that is worthwhile and doesn’t involve you?”

“You call THAT worthwhile?” Selena laughed at that, not meaning to but it was too ridiculous a notion. “You realize you were just part of some faux-elitist shindig, right?”

“It was celebrating…”
“Oh shut up, Deanna.” Selena shot back. “It was nothing more than a ego-stroking, ‘I’m better than you’ party!”
“For the people that worked hard for their grades!”

“Worked hard?!” again, Selena laughed. “You’re the only person that worked ‘hard’ in that group, Deanna. Or did you not see the all the rich folks there. There wasn’t one of them that had a suit or dress that wasn’t less than ten grand on them.” She eyed her wife’s own green-sequined dress. “Did you buy that dress? Or did Raphael buy it?”

“I…” immediately, the redhead quieted, knowing the answer as well as Selena did.

“And why? You own several dresses. Dresses I bought for you. So, why would he?” she didn’t wait for an answer. “Because it wasn’t good enough. What we have, where we live? It’s not good enough for THEIR world. Your fellow ‘graduates’? Dozens of tutors and people to do the work for them.”

Selena shook her head. She had dug deep in her research for the past week, finding a list of all the classmates and their history. It had taken her time… and maybe even hiring a detective here and there… but she refused to enter a battle, be it in her life or in SCW, acting on emotion alone. She had done it at Rise to Greatness – she refused to do it now.

“That girl in the red-dress that came in after me? Did you see her?” Selena asked, earning a nod from Deanna. “Jordan. Works three jobs including Uber and DoorDash just to pay the bills. 75-hour work week. Missed the ‘elite-grade’ by two percent.”

She saw Deanna blink a little, the woman still furious, but at least she was listening. “There’s four people that came with me: Tommy, Jack, Susan and Ruby. Mentally handicapped. Worked each day to try and study. Their caretakers shared with me the hours they put in trying to understand everything. Didn’t make the cut. Not invited. Mark – raising three kids on top of being a student. Jules – working through addiction issues with rehab. Beth – same as Jordan. Dozens of people working as hard as they can in this world, but because they didn’t pass a certain ‘grade’, they get denied the chance to celebrate graduating.”

Selena let her words settle as she narrowed her eyes at Deanna. “Because those people don’t care about the whys or the hows. They care about the results. That’s ALL they care about. All those people? The people you were celebrating with? They’ll look down on those I mentioned and simply say ‘not good enough’. That’s who you were talking to with your speech, Deanna….” She gave a sad tilt of her head. “But of course you don’t see it. It probably never even crossed your mind. You’re enjoying the praise too much.” She leaned forward, choosing the words she would later regret saying. “Just like in SCW.”

It was those words that, when spoken aloud, Selena saw something snap within Deanna. Something inside the redhead break, perhaps irreparably. In that instant, Deanna leapt at Selena, meaning to tackle her in a rage-fueled attack.

Selena did not even hesitate.

In a second, faster than the redhead could imagine, the trained woman stepped an inch to the left, her foot out and her hand pressing into the closest shoulder-blade of the, now, passing redhead. She saw her wife trip on the foot, caused by the shove of the hand, before losing her balance and crashing – although the location of said crash had not been part of Selena’s plan – as she saw her wife barrel into a nearby potted plant (obviously used for décor). The trio, pot, plant and Deanna tumbled over, with the pot releasing its contents of plant and dirt all over the attacker.

The still-standing woman did not move for a moment, merely taking the damage in. She felt her heart break at the sight of her beloved covered in dirt and plant. As she saw her wife’s face morph from shock to anger before it all just consumed her, driving Deanna to tears. With a sigh, Selena took a few steps towards her fallen wife, offering a pale hand to Deanna’s dirty ones.

She was only half-expecting the dirty woman to shove the offered hand back. “Leave me alone.” She half-yelled, half-cried as she pulled herself up. “Just…Just leave me alone.” That one was all cry and tears as she rushed past Deanna, back towards the ballroom before veering left to enter the bathroom Selena had frequented earlier.

The world champion watched her go without stopping her or saying a word. It has to be done. she heard her devil-voice whisper gently. She will thank you later.

A long sigh escaped the platinum-blonde. She had to believe that. Lowering her gaze, she spotted the ring on her finger. The one she refused to remove despite everything. Her wedding ring.

“It has to work out.” She whispered to herself before turning to leave the building. Everything had to work out the way she planned in the end…

Otherwise…what was even the point?

_______________________________________________________________

The following video is a private video sent to Mr. Aaron Demtria, SCW head official. The video, upon opening, reveals a simple ring inside what appears to be a gym. Sitting on the edge of the apron, her back against the ropes is none other than the SCW world champion herself, Selena Frost. She is not dressed as the world champion, the Blue-Eyed Devil, or even as The Snow Queen/Face of SCW. Not even the SCW world championship is with her. Rather, this woman’s attire consists of blue jeans and a maroon sweater, her hair in it iconic braid.

Taking a deep breath, she lifts her head to stare into the camera – into the eyes of her sole audience.


Aaron… she breaths the name, showing a bit of exhaustion but also a smile that screams trust and friendship.

I’ll wager this may come as a I surprise for you. Receiving a private video from an SCW superstar. Perhaps a bit more shocking when that superstar is the SCW world champion. But, do you see me dressed like The Snow Queen? Do you see me dressed like The Blue-Eyed Devil? As the world champion? Do you see a title here? she slowly shakes her head. Because I wanted to talk to you as one person to another. Not wrestler and official. But as fellow employees of SCW. And I need you to understand some things before this upcoming weekend…

She takes a slow breath, carefully gathering her thoughts and looking away for a moment. We’ve been through a lot together, you and I, Aaron. I could write a book about the matches of mine that you’ve officiated in the ten years I’ve been here in SCW… And you know I have always respected you. I’ve always tried to look out for you. Tried to keep you out of harm’s way when things go south…

That’s why I did what I did with the contract signing. That’s why I refused to sign the contract until I was certain that YOU, and only you, would be the official for the SCW world championship match in the main-event.

Because this isn’t just me fixing a mistake, an error… a crime against me, Aaron. No. This is me fixing a crime against you.

She stares at the camera. Because it should have been you that night.

It should have been you in the ring, on the biggest main-event in SCW’s history. Rise to Greatness XX – a milestone few, if any, federations have reached in our business. It should have been you, the man that has given more years to this business than… well, basically, anyone! Any superstar, any official, none of them have been here as long as you. No one has GIVEN more than you, Aaron, and I include the on-again, off-again boss that was O. D.! “The best official in the business”. That’s what Sharper called you. That’s what Shaun Cruze believed you to be when he said he’d stand by you in your decisions two years ago… but I’ll get to that…

But… where did you spend the main-event of RTG XX, Aaron? Where was ‘the best in the business’?

Sadly, Selena shakes her head. In the back? Catering? Heading home early? She shakes her head again knowingly. What should have been a ‘defining moment’ earned by you as much as it was earned by me as the world champion was denied to both of us. And for what? For a cheap sell? For some ‘extra tickets bought’? To mess with me? For ‘shock value’? That’s what O. D. and SCW management see after the years WE have put into this business. That is what they see in you. Replaceable with a ‘legend’ – integrity be damned. Years of devotion and hard work be damned. That is what your decades of work amounted to in their eyes, Aaron. Just like with me.

She sits back against the ropes. I don’t see that in you, Aaron. I see a man that has given his life, and risked it, for this company and on his terms of integrity and honor. I see a man that WANTS to be proud of the job he does. A man that wants to say “I work as a referee – as a SENIOR official and HEAD referee - in Supreme Championship Wrestling” with pride and a smile on his face!

Slowly, Selena rubs her hands together. When’s the last time you felt that, Aaron? When was the last time you were that man? When was the last time you felt that pride working here? Was it when Kandis pushed you to the ground to get at Religious Wright? Was it when she derailed an SCW world championship match that I made for Wright and for you simply because it ‘wasn’t what she wanted’? Was it further back? When people were invading each other’s homes because they were pissed off? Was it when Asher Hayes and Kandis were trading title-shots to the head night after night? Were you proud then? Was it at Rise to Greatness, when you had to watch from the back as your main-event passed you by?

A slow exhale came from Selena. That’s why I left, Aaron. I wasn’t proud to be here anymore. I was ashamed to be here. I was ashamed that I was in a business where such acts were not only allowed but encouraged by the SCW fans and the management. Where D. would shrug his shoulders and say that it was ‘just how things were changing’, as if that was what I had to just accept. What you just had to accept…

And when I came back... She tilts her head. I decided that I was going to force things to run my way. That I was going to have my matches, my time, my efforts run on my terms. Because SCW needs me. You know it and I know it. SCW needs it’s ‘Face’ because without me, well… you’ve seen what happens, haven’t you? No pride. No integrity. No nothing.

And I want people like you, like Jessica Winters, like Deanna, good people with integrity, to be proud to work here. I want the SCW world championship to be a source of pride. I want matches that MEAN something. Not matches that are put together for controversy or pop or ploys to sell tickets. I want people to RESPECT what I do. Respect what you do – what we have GIVEN to this business!

Slowly, the platinum-blonde takes a deep breath. And I need you to understand that, Aaron. Because I didn’t demand you in MY main-event just to get the man that’s been running around here lately, unable to control the chaos. The man that could do nothing while people were pelted with chairs or belts or championships were stolen or homes invaded or tights were pulled or rope breaks missed.

I need the man that knew, beyond reproach, when to do the right thing. You remember that man? Selena stares meaningfully at the camera. I do. Two years ago, that man was put in a match to officiate the future of the world championship. A match involving me and Holly Adams. A match where the title could change hands if I was disqualified. The woman rubs the tops of her knees and legs with her hands as she looks away, recalling that fateful night.

You had a choice that night, Aaron. Kimberly Williams ran in, DDTed Holly right in front of you to try and screw me out of the world title. Simply for chaos and for disrespect. You could have called it then and there, could have named Holly Adams the world champion. But you didn’t… why?

Because you knew that it wasn’t right. You knew that this was not how the world title – how the best of SCW – should be found out. You chose the path that you were proud to stand by. You chose to let the match continue and give me the chance to show the world, and you, that I was the better, more deserving SCW world champion. The harder worker. The better talent. The future of that championship. And then, at Retribution, when Holly was ready in that Double Jeopardy match, to bash my head in with a chair… you stopped her. You refused to give her an inch or any kind of unfair advantage because you didn’t want the main-event – the representation of all SCW – to be handled that way. You wanted an undisputed winner, didn’t you? You wanted to say that you helped find ‘the best wrestler in the world’. Just like you always have… except RTG 20, right?

A slow exhale comes from the Snow Queen. I need that man now, Aaron. I need that official that will not balk when Kandis puts her hands on you again when things don’t go her way. Because, I promise you, things will not go her way. And I don’t think you need to see her smash another monitor, or cry her eyes out while she’s standing on top of a table, or attack another superstar… or shove you to the ground again… to know that.

You’ve seen what she can be when she is champion, and what she can be when she isn’t. She runs roughshod here. She thinks she can do whatever she wants and she justifies it with either being ‘champion’ or being a ‘victim of conspiracy or controversy’. D. and CHBK made that happen, Aaron. The fans made that happen.

Now, I need to fix it. I need to make Kandis realize that what happened in Toronto was a damn fluke. It was a mistake. It was a stacked deck where the only person with any integrity in that match was me. Not Kandis, not CHBK, not the fans, just me. I need to make it clear that Kandis can belong in her ‘OnlyFans’ videos or whatever free porn site she uploads to, she can belong in her strip bar or whatever that place she owns with Tommy Valentine is, and she can belong in the fantasies of every low-level, low-standard, no-integrity fan in the SCW Universe…

But where she doesn’t belong? Where she has never belonged? Is in the main-event. Is in the realm of the SCW world championship!

She turns to stare at the camera, her eyes piercing and cold. You understand, Aaron? I am not just looking out for me and my legacy here. I am looking out for you and your legacy and the legacy of this championship – of this whole company. And I need ‘the best official in the world’ to be there to do the right thing like you used to. I need you to want to be proud to be here again. I need you to be the proof-positive that that bitch doesn’t belong near me or this title ever again!

Rolling her shoulders back, Selena takes a slow breath before speaking again. When you were that man, Aaron, I rewarded you with the longest world title reign in SCW history – I made you part of that unbreakable record. Imagine what I can give you and all of SCW now if you’re that man again. Imagine what I can do to change SCW back to something you can be proud to be part of. Imagine what your family will think of you if you were that man again. Imagine what your kids and grandkids will think of you if you are that man again, starting at Retribution – OUR retribution, Aaron.

Selena gives a slight shrug. Or… you can get used to being shoved to the ground, your calls disrespected… and letting main-event after main-event pass you by again simply because it’s ‘what Kandis wants to do’. It’s really up to you. The power is quite literally in your hands, Aaron Demitra. Whether you want to believe it and do the right thing… her sapphire eyes narrow. Or not.

The camera slowly fades on the woman before going entirely to black.

[SnowQueenSCW]

DISCLAIMER: The following is a work of fiction and not to be confused as complete or accurate representation of any beliefs, religions, etc. Please refer to research/articles by experts for that.

Villain of the Year

”Certain Points of View”

Connely’s Pub and Restaurant
New York, New York
March 3rd, 2024
1:01pm

“And then you pushed her into the dirt?!”

The words were a mix in Selena’s ears. She had heard the words, but she had also heard the strums of music, the Irish tunes a far cry to the classic Victorian songs she had heard less than 24 hours ago. She felt a yawn escape her at the memory of that. She had not slept much since last night, maybe a couple of hours on the couch at best. Even her luxury bed on the third floor of her penthouse had not given her the comfort she needed to fall asleep. Or, rather, it did not give her the mental comfort she had needed to sleep.

Her mind simply would not cooperate. It kept replaying the same scene over and over again. Her beloved Deanna… lying in the dirt of that tackled plant and pot… the tears on her beloved’s face marring with the specks of dirt on her cheeks. “I did not push her in the dirt.” She tried, lamely, to reply to the question. “She tried to tackle me and, on instinct, I tripped her up. She fell into a nearby potted plant… Not like a I put it there.” She grumbled the last part out under her breath.

“So, you pushed her into the dirt.” Came the conclusive tone of her ‘date’ – no, that wasn’t the right word, but she still stuck with it, her mind still too tired to dip into her usual ‘vernacular’. Instead, she merely sighed before reaching up and adjusting the dark-brown, round sunglasses that covered her eyes. In that moment, she wasn’t concerned that it was ‘weird’ or ‘rude’ to wear sunglasses while indoors. It wasn’t like she was at a five-star restaurant or something.

Rather, her father had picked a pub (of all places) for their promised father-daughter date. And had it been anyone else, with how she was feeling, Selena would have rescheduled, called in sick or something. But because it had been Jonathan VanHohenheim, she had done her best to make it work, as well as look somewhat presentable, choosing a black pant suit with her hair done up in a loose bun. In short, it was Selena Frost, and not Jonathan VanHohenheim, that looked like she was on her lunch break, when, in reality, it was the other way around.

Across the table from her, her father sat with black pants, a red, opened long-sleeved shirt and a black wifebeater underneath. His hair, with a slight natural curl, was combed back and his beard was trimmed, the various colors of black and white coloring it and his temples. His expression, however, was a mixture of surprise that had morphed into sadness at his own conclusion from his daughter’s words and ‘explanation’ of her latest actions. With a sigh, Selena reached up to pull the sunglasses off her face to glare at her father.

“If I had let her tackle me, we both would have ended up there.” She stated, gesturing the next part with her hand. “Emphasis on the point that ‘She. Tackled. Me.’.”

“No no, I got that.” The old man sighed, reaching up to rub his temples with his free hand, his other picking at the shepherd’s pie in front of him with his fork. “I just… I just feel responsible for this.”

The remark caught Selena off-guard, albeit only slightly, her sapphire eyes widening. “Why would you feel responsible?”

Instead of answering, Jonathan consumed a forkful of pie, distractingly casting his gaze into the pub and restaurant he had chosen, allowing Selena to do the same.

It was a decent pub, reminding the Snow Queen of her Uncle Liam’s ‘Bar and Grill’ in Nome, Alaska, where she had worked at for years (during the throngs of her sad life) before becoming a wrestler. The wooden floors and stools were similar – she’d say ‘atypical’ of a pub/bar - and there was no mistaken the ‘vibe’ of such an establishment. But where this place, Connoley’s it was called, favored an Irish-Pub setting, complete with matching music and colors of décor, Liam had maintained a sports bar. In fact, if she had the time/brain-energy to think about it, Selena would have laughed at the idea of an Irishman walking into Liam’s establishment and demanding to know ‘where the nearest Irish Pub be at?’

Uncle Liam would have popped him in the mouth and thrown him out. Selena smiled at that. Nome rules, baby. she tried to mentally-say that in Liam’s accent but knew she had failed miserably.

“You haven’t touched your pie.” Jonathan’s words brought her back to the matter at hand, the platinum-blonde turning her head and feeling the sting in her eyes from the sunlight coming through the window near her booth seat, forcing the young woman to slide her sunglasses back to their proper place.

“I’ll get it later.” She shrugged, though she wasn’t quite so certain of that declaration. “Don’t have much of an appetite.” She eyed her father. “But you didn’t answer my question.”

“Damn, thought you would have forgotten.”
“Deanna tries the same trick on me all the time.” Selena remarked. “I mean, she did – or does – you know what I mean.” She shook her head, a bit more agitated than her usual demeanor. Blame the lack of sleep on that one…

“You look tired-“
“Dad!” Selena pressed, raising her voice a little, though not enough to garner unwanted attention. The last thing she wanted was to get banned from another bar. “Why do you feel responsible for Deanna and I?”

“Because…” he poked at his mashed potatoes with his fork. “I was the one that told you about the party in the first place.”

There was a moment of silence between the father-daughter pair, with Selena looking glumly at her plate, which only had a few bites from the concoction of dough and meat and potatoes taken from it.

“So… you’re upset that you told me?” she finally, and slowly asked, a voice a little breathier.
“Yes… and no.” Came the eventual answer, which did nothing for her depressed-state, keeping her in silence.

Why not have the hat trick? Her mind thought bitterly. Obviously, Deanna was angry at her – actually, angry didn’t even feel like a strong enough word at this point. The Snow Queen was sure the red-haired woman hated her now. And she would happily have bet her limo-bus that her mother, Alejandra, felt the same way. Sure, she had played ‘negotiator’ last time the Frost wives had quarrelled, but she had done nothing yesterday and, hell, she had been the one planning all of this with Deanna in the first place! Even now, the platinum-blonde could imagine her mother using words like ‘embarrassed’ and ‘ashamed’ like Freya had when the old Alden-woman had eyed Selena had the party last night. Not that Selena cared what that woman thought, but the idea that Alejandra, her mother, would share such views…

Which left her father, and, clearly, he wasn’t thrilled with the events of last night as Selena had relayed them out to him.

“Hey!” A pair of fingers snapped before her shaded eyes, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“What?” she asked, shaking her head.
“I know that look.” Jonathan narrowed his eyes a little at the young wrestler.
“What ‘look’?” Selena asked. “And I’m wearing sunglasses. How can you see a ‘look’?”
“I just can.” He answered surely.
“Such a dad answer.” Selena scoffed.
“Well, I am your dad.”

Well… he’s got me there. Selena thought with a sigh as Jonathan sat back in his chair.

“I said ‘yes AND no’.” he clarified, stressing the last word. “I don’t like that it was me that broke the news to you about what was happening with the Aldens. But I don’t like what Allie and Deanna did in hiding it from you – cause you said you had no idea?”

“None.” Selena answered honestly, unable to hide the dejection and bitterness in her voice. “She hid the invitation so I never saw it when I was home to visit. Mother never said anything until after I found out – same with Deanna. And it wasn’t like the Aldens were keeping me in the loop with everything.” She stole a glance towards the patiently calm man. “You really aren’t taking a side in this?”

He gave a shrug to start his answer. “In my experience, nothing is ever really so ‘black and white’. Everyone thinks they’re the hero in their own story. Everyone can justify their actions one way or another. In this case, I think everyone was both right and wrong.”

“I’m not mad at mom.” Selena sighed, reaching up to run her free hand against her temple, massaging it. “At least, I don’t think I am. She’s been trying to help smooth things out between Deanna and I.”

“What about Deanna?” Jonathan asked, earning a slightly guilty shrug from his daughter. “You think maybe you overdid it a little yesterday?”

Again, a shrug was what he got for an answer, at first. For Selena, she didn’t answer with words right away. Mostly because she was afraid that anything she said would just turn another loved one against her.

So what?! she quickly quieted her devil-voice, dulling the thoughts in her head to a mild whisper. She didn’t need to bring that part of herself out right now. She wanted to have more time with her father – the last few years being shaky at best in terms of ‘time spent together’. The exception had been during her ‘retirement’, which now was nothing more than a four-month vacation, it seemed. She had spent more time with her parents. Nothing like this; but still visiting them and chatting. Alone time with Jonathan was not as common, as he still worked as an accountant, working full-time like an average joe.

Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad… Selena allowed herself to think for a moment. The idea of her being ‘normal’. Not ‘dirt poor’ or a ‘pariah’ like she had been in Nome but neither the ‘lap of luxury celebrity’ she had become to evolve into ‘The Blue-Eyed Devil’…

What if she just worked a 9-5 job like most people? Worked hard in some office or public-service forty hours a week and then came home to a loving family for dinner? What if she saved her weekends for ‘children and wife time’ rather than to film promos and study footage? What if she panicked over things like a pension or savings or investments or something as mundane as making sure bills were paid on time (with the economy the way it was), instead of having more than enough money to live in a penthouse for the foreseeable future? What if she went to the gym to just ‘stay healthy’ rather than overly train her body to be ‘destructive’ with its punches and kicks? What if she watched wrestling because she enjoyed it as a fan, instead of studying it as a job?

It all… it all didn’t seem so bad…

She felt a sigh escape her in that moment, causing her to look out the window, to the other average-joes – average New Yorkians - walking about on the street, some strolling by, others still rushing to try and catch the bus that was driving on the side, others busking, others begging for coins and whatever. So many people… just none like her.

That simple fact was a little soul-crushing. Because she couldn’t be an ‘average person’ now. She had tried it for months. Tried to live like an average mom. An average wife. She just didn’t have it in her. Perhaps it had been foolish of her to try in the first place, looking back on it now. She had gone from nothing in Nome, an outcast with little more than a shabby roof over her head, a drinking problem, and a child made of snow, to the highest paid, greatest superstar in SCW history, or at least in contention for the accolade. All because, on that fateful night over ten years ago, she entered into a royale and, from then now, had never ‘settled’ for second-best or for ‘average’. She had gambled on herself ten years ago and never stopped doing it, counting on her own will and strength to make things happen.

So to settle now? To take a step back from anything less than what she had already reached? It just wasn’t in her to maintain. Especially since returning to SCW. She refused to simply ‘fizzle out’. She refused to simply have a short ‘pop of a return’ and then go back to how things were before. No! She had come back for one reason. To dominate SCW. To play by her own rules after being at the beck and call of the SCW Universe’s perverse perception of things last year. Nothing less than her staying at the top as world champion would do. Being at the top because no one could really beat her. THAT was how she was going to do things in this ‘revenge tour’. Make them regret pushing you to come back and… Again, she quieted the devil-voice. This wasn’t the time or the place.

“No.” she finally answered her father’s question. “I don’t think I overdid it.”
“Really?” Jonathan chuckled with a raised eyebrow. “You called every student that wasn’t invited and put together an assault team to crash the party.”

“That’s not overdoing it.” Selena shrugged. “I just thought that if I felt slighted for my hard work not being appreciated, maybe the other students that weren’t invited felt the same way too. If anything, I just provided them a means to express their own displeasure and/or celebrate their own graduation. If anything, I…” she snapped her fingers after finding the right words in her mind. “I provided opportunity!”

It was a good statement. She had done the same thing for Religious Wright, making her match with him become a title shot for the SCW world championship. Of course, as expected, Kandis had thrown a fit and gotten involved. Surprise surprise… She had to smile at that. Was it always this easy to play the woman like this? It felt strange. Before she had left, it was the other way around, with Kandis playing mind games and manipulating things behind the scenes. Looking back, Selena could see how she had been played by the former tag-team champion, the woman, at the time, using Selena’s own ‘rigid’ view of integrity against with simple hearsay and, flat-out, BS. Now?

“Opportunity?” Jonathan asked, interrupting her thoughts. “You know a big brawl broke out after you left.”
“How do you-“
“Allie told me.”
“She wasn’t hurt was she?” the concern in Selena’s voice was undeniable as she processed her father’s report.
“What if she was?” he asked with a tilt of his head. “Or what if Deanna was? Not like you stayed around to ensure their safety.”

The questions brought a chill into Selena’s very core. She had expected that, with the ‘non-elite’ people invading and helping themselves to the food and drink – per Selena’s instructions after all – that a drunken brawl of some kind was more than likely to occur. She had hoped for it, actually. The idea of that ballroom, torn asunder and made a mess? The ‘elite of Aldens’ scrambling in shock and disgust as they were pelted with food and drink? Their very party of ‘status-claiming’ made an embarrassment that they would never forget? Yeah… she definitely wanted that!

But if Alejandra and Deanna got hurt because of it…

She exhaled a long breath. “They are both adults.” She settled on saying, secretly trying to quell the anxiety that was feeling. “They would have left if things got that bad.”
“You’re sure about that?”

“I don’t want to think about it, father.” She shot back coldly, glaring at the bearded man. “I’m not going to take responsibility or guilt if they stuck around! They lied to me, okay? They brought this on themselves.” She saw the shock on her father’s face, causing her to back down a little, even lowering her voice to a calmer tone. “Do I pray that nothing happened to either of them? Of course I do! It’s my mother and it’s my wife we’re talking about here. But you want me to feel guilty for their choices? If a building was on fire and they ran into it, do you blame the fire?”

It was no different than SCW. Could she worry about her wife doing all these stupid match requests like chamber matches and last woman standing matches? Of course. Would that stop, Deanna? Of course not. Selena had to learn that there was nothing she could do sometimes in her wife’s actions other than let her learn on her own.

VanHohenheim, meanwhile, seemed to process the woman’s response, all while chewing away forkfuls of shepherd’s pie. “I just wanted to see where your head was at.” He said in-between mouthfuls. “They’re both fine by the way.”

“I figured.” Selena stated, but there was no hiding the sigh of relief that came before her words. “I would like to think that anything otherwise would be slightly more important than an ‘invitation’ and I’d, at least, be called.”

“I think so too.” Jonathan agreed, before dabbing his mouth with his napkin. “This whole thing is a mess, isn’t it?” he offered. “You and Deanna, I mean. I mean, think about it…” he continued. “From what Allie told me, you guys are living apart but you don’t want to divorce.”
“No.”
“Isn’t that odd?”

Selena shrugged her shoulders at that. “I still love her.” She answered factually. “I still want to be her wife. I imagine she feels the same.” Though the platinum-blonde wasn’t so sure of that after last night.

“Yet you won’t go home and live with her and your children.”
“There’s a reason for that.” Selena sighed. “You just wouldn’t understand.”

“I don’t understand any of this, Selena.” The older man released a huff/laugh mix of sound. “You two keep trying to both hurt each other and involve yourselves in each other’s lives. Any sensible couple would just divorce and stay apart. But, I’ve seen Deanna cry talking about how all she wants is for things to go back to how they were. For you to come home…”

Deanna crying… once more that image from last night rang in Selena’s mind. Of her wife, dirt-covered and teary-eyed. Quickly, and with as much mental-force as she could, she pushed it away. Instead, she focused on her father’s inquiry, trying, in her sleep-deprived mind, to find the right words for him.

“I cannot…” she tried, casting her gaze out the window once more. “I cannot be both the woman I need to be in SCW and be her wife at the same time.”

“Deanna said you kept mentioning that.” Came Jonathan’s patient reply. “I just don’t get it. Why can’t you just keep your work life and private life separate.”

“Because I tried!”

She hadn’t meant to yell that sentence, but it had been instinctual. Quickly, she glanced around the establishment. Fortunately, with it still being the early afternoon, there weren’t many people taking their lunches or ‘lunch-break’, which was probably way her father, as he had said when they had arrived, ‘came here all the time for lunch’. As such, there weren’t many people there to witness her little outburst. Satisfied, and somewhat relieved, with that, the platinum-blonde sat back and tried to calm herself for a few seconds, thankful that her father had chosen to remain silent throughout it.

“I really did try.” Her voice had dropped to a whisper. “I tried to just walk away from it. I tried to leave it behind. To convince myself that I didn’t need it anymore. That I had done enough.”

“And you couldn’t?”

“No, I did!” Selena’s head shot up before she spoke, her eyes locked on the soft gaze of her father. “I did do it! I shut myself away from it. It was almost too easy… or, at least I thought it was easy. Out of sight and out of mind, you know? What did I care if Kandis was using my departure and taking ‘credit’ for it?” she scoffed. “The woman can’t hold a candle to my career, so let her have that to hang her hat on. I wasn’t bothered by it!”

“Uh-huh…” VanHohenheim didn’t sound convinced, but Selena continued on.

“Same with the fans. Same with the management. What did I care? I had done enough right? Won enough tournaments? Broke enough records? Headlined enough Rise to Greatness main-events? Created a career that few would ever touch. So what if it ended on a, somewhat, sour note?” she shook her head. “But I did do it, dad. I really did do it…”

The next breath she took was a shaky one as she shook her head. “But Deanna couldn’t.” she confirmed. “She couldn’t let me leave it behind. She kept wanting me to go back. To end things on better terms, or make amends with the fans – I… I really don’t know what she was hoping to happen. But the more and more she pushed, the more and more SCW played along with her, making noise and promises that I didn’t even know about. Making noise until I… Until, I…”

“Until you couldn’t just ignore it anymore, could you?”

Lifting her head, Selena slowly shook it back and forth. “No, I couldn’t.” she answered her father. “They were trying to use my name for more than just a stepping stone. They were trying to use me for more than just ‘cheap pops’. I was getting dragged through the mud – all my work. My entire career – just because I wasn’t there to defend myself… and it was easy for them to do it. Suddenly, I was a no-shower. I was a liar. I was a fraud. I was this and that… and I hadn’t done anything wrong.” She sighed. “I knew then that I had to go back, but…” she reached up to pull off her sunglasses, using the back of her hand to rub her eyes aggressively. “I knew that if I came back, it wouldn’t be as a fan-favorite. I couldn’t be what I was. How could I be that when all I felt was contempt for all of them… the fans, management, even Deanna to an extent… I still do.”

“And Deanna… she can’t see that. She can’t leave that at work and keep things separate at home.” She eyed her father. “And gods, dad, I’m sorry to admit it but it’s felt SO good being this way! I’ve had the time of my life manipulating everyone that used me. The management, Alex, taking Asher out of SCW, and then making Kandis my little toy? Gods…” she laughed. “After all she did to me, all she said to me – how she played her mind games with me… it felt SO good to be the one playing her!”

“Karma…revenge…” Jonathan shrugged. “There’s a reason people use them. But you were talking about Deanna.”

The platinum-blonde nodded her head. “Deanna doesn’t get that all of that needs to stay outside of our home. I don’t want the kids to hear about me being that way!”

“Why not? Are you ashamed of it?”

“Hell no!” she half-barked, tapering herself off at the end to avoid another outburst. “I don’t regret a single thing.”

“Not even beating that poor Wright guy up?”
Sapphire eyes widened. “You saw that?”
“Deanna showed me.” Jonathan admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, earning a growl from the platinum-blonde.
“That’s my point!” Selena sighed angrily.
“Which is?”

“She’s showing you and mom – what if she’s showing the kids? What if I’m there and she’s making me out to be the villain like everyone in SCW is?”

“Are you the villain?”

“To them I am! But I haven’t done anything wrong. They just hate me because I’m not morally-corrupt like they are or a floozy slut like Kandis is. Or have no integrity like most of them! They can’t be me or aspire to me – it’s too hard to reach my standard - so they hate me. So any chance they have to bring me down, they try and take it! Every opponent that promises to do that? They cheer! And I don’t care if it’s them that hate me, dad, but my kids? My children?” she shook her head. “I don’t want that! And if Deanna is gonna try and turn them against me, I want them to myself so I can show them better.”

“So…” the man breathed. “You tried being the inspiration at work – they inevitably hated you for it. You tried walking away and being the doting wife and mother. Deanna wouldn’t let you be that. You know that if you try and be both again-“
“I’ll just break again.”
“And if you are who are now…”

“Deanna will make it spill over towards your children…” Selena nodded. “So, I left. I left to handle this mess she and SCW created. Least when the kids are with me, I can control the narrative on my terms, make them understand that I’m just making people accountable for their actions. I’m just taking back my legacy and my place in SCW, for as much as for them as it is for me. That I’m the same person – just less of a punching bag…”

Less dependent…

“Less dependent on approval by people that don’t matter.” She spoke the thought, lifting her head in time to see her father’s eyes widen a little at her. “What?”

“Well…don’t get mad, but the way you said that, just now… I’m sorry, but you sounded so much like Malcolm.”

She opened her mouth to immediately retort – to deny it on instinct and principal – but no words came out. Instead, she merely sat back into her chair, giving a slight shrug as a reply.

“Well…” Jonathan settled, clasping his hands together. “I still don’t get it.”
“You going to say I am wrong?”
“No.” he shook he head towards his daughter. “How can I say that when I don’t really get it?” he gave a long, studied look at his daughter. “But I know you, kid. And you’ve never done anything half-ass. Least for what I’ve known. I like to think you got that from me, but what do I know?”

“I did.” Selena remarked without thinking. “You taught me to never give up on what you believe in. You spent so much of my life searching for gold in a mine when nobody believed it existed – they insulted you and called you crazy. But you never gave up. That’s how strongly you believed in it.”

He nodded his head, as if he had heard this story about his past life before. “And you believe in this? In what you are doing?”

Her father’s question caused a pause in Selena, forcing the platinum-blonde to reflect. She had no desire to lie to her father, or to herself, even if he wouldn’t like the answer she gave.

“I do.” She answered clearly, her tone cold and strong. “More than anything. There isn’t one step I regret doing since I came back.”

Her father spent a moment studying her expression: her tense jaw, her strong gaze, how her entire demeanour remained unwavering, before giving a nod of his head, raising his hand to signal for the check. “My lunch break is almost over.”

Quickly, Selena pulled her cellphone out to check the time, surprised at how fast the lunch hour had flown by. She offered to pay, but her father wouldn’t hear of it – citing how she barely touched her own lunch, which only had a few bites in it. The matter resolved, and Selena not needing ‘leftovers’ to take with her, the pair made their exit from the pub, walking the sidewalks as the brisk, March air filled the streets, Selena opting to walk her father back to work.

“So…” Jonathan breathed, casting a glance up to the towering buildings above them, while simultaneously stepping out of the way to avoid collision with a nearby pedestrian rushing past them. “If you’re so sure in what you are doing – with no regrets… What’s the end goal here?”

A loud honking horn of a cab driving down the street next to them temporarily caught Selena’s attention, the Snow Queen jerking her head towards the sound and doing a little spin with her momentum before shifting her focus back over to the taller Jonathan. “End goal?”

“You know – where do you see all this heading? What’s the plan here long-term?”

It was a good question. Honest, too. But what surprised Selena the most was the fact that it was really the first time she had been asked that question. Nobody else had ever really bothered. Not the fans, not the management, not CHBK, not friends like Jessica or Light in the Darkness, not her mother… not even Deanna. They all had either let it be or judged her in various degrees. To be asked what her ‘plan’ was? What her ‘goals’ were?

It was a strange feeling – odd that it had taken so long to be asked and, now that she had been asked, did she even have an answer outside of ‘revenge’?

“I’m…” she breathed, casting a glance upwards. “I’m not too sure.”

“Well, theoretically.” Jonathan tried, reaching out to grasp the distracted Selena and guide her to the side, helping her avoid colliding with another passerby. “I mean, in a perfect world, what happens?” he gave a shrug. “Do you move back in with Deanna? Do you guys work things out? What about work? You gonna be this way forever?”

Again, more good questions… and Selena was more surprised that she didn’t really have an answer, or even had a thought towards them beyond the ones concerning Deanna.

“Well…” she focused on that. “Deanna, yes. I mean… once we figure this all out – I clean up this mess… of course I want to live with them again. Or, if the kids really want, they can live in the tower with me. But, she needs to understand everything first.”

“With work?”

“With work, with the Aldens…” She sighed, lifting a hand to rub her temples. “I didn’t JUST go to crash the party last night because I hate them, father. I did it to get through to her. Deanna… she’s buying into the Alden’s crap. She’s getting sucked into their cult and she won’t listen to me, she won’t listen to mom. She’s just loving the attention and the praise.”

“I mean…not to sound like devil’s advocate here… but you think maybe it’s because she’s not getting it from you?”

The Snow Queen jerked her head, almost as if she’d been slapped, towards her father, sapphire eyes burning behind her shades. “I’ve supported her every step of the way! I’ve always supported her.”

“Except for when you didn’t want to talk about work. When you didn’t want to so much as listen to SCW, right?” he countered calmly. “I’m just saying. Maybe it’s a matter of her looking for something she’s not getting from home or from you. Isn’t that why you left Nome? You thought you deserved more?”

Selena opened her mouth to counter – to point out the glaring differences in those two situations – before, forcibly, closing her jaw. “She’s not going to get what she’s looking for from them.” She settled on saying. “She doesn’t see what she is becoming a part of. Least now she can.”

“Because of you?”

The platinum-blonde nodded. “In a perfect world, father, she leaves the Aldens behind with me. She understand what I am doing in SCW. Why I have to be the way I am now. I can’t… I can’t just ‘go with it’ like she is. Just ‘accept’ that things suck over there. That people want cheaters and liars and crap like that in my federation. So, I don’t care if I’m hated. I’m holding the world title to a standard and playing by MY rules until they all smarten up, or get good enough to knock me down.”

Put up or shut up… came the dark voice in her mind, affirming her own words.

“Okay, so let’s say you rule SCW with an iron-fist! Let’s say Deanna comes around to, at least, understanding your point of view about everything. Maybe she even leaves the Aldens. Then what?”

Selena shrugged. “I go back home… we join forces in SCW, maybe? I don’t know…” she shook her head. “You’re asking a lot though. She’s very stubborn in her ways.”

“And you’re not?”

“Honestly?” Selena sighed, running a hand along her scalp. “I think we may end up fighting each other, dad.”

It was a terrifying notion, but one she could not ignore. Fighting Kandis? She had zero fear of that. Far as she was concerned, the former world champion was a hothead that Selena could manipulate with just the slightest adjustments in strategy. In her mind, Retribution couldn’t come fast enough for the Snow Queen to, emphatically, show what a fluke their last singles match was and how different she, herself, had become in her return as “The Blue-Eyed Devil”. Even other competitors like Xander Valentine and Bree Lancaster, and all of LexyCorp or whatever that group was calling themselves – none of them frightened Selena. Not that she thought she was invincible, but none of them held the keys to destroy her like she had been coming out of Rise to Greatness and the subsequent Breakdown.

Deanna… The platinum-blonde breathed… Deanna could destroy her. She had the means to do it. Even if the redhead didn’t know how to yet. And with her promise to ‘get better’ until she could compete at Selena’s level hanging over the Snow Queen’s head, a confrontation seemed inevitable, more so thanks to last night.

“Gods…” she heard her father whisper to no one as he processed Selena’s analysis. “You can’t just buy her flowers or something?”

The humor brought a small laugh out of Selena. “I think I am passed that point, dad. I don’t think a whole orchid could fix this.”

“But a fight will?”

She shrugged. “We’re wrestlers, father. Might be the only thing that can.”
“Geez… Well, good luck with that.” He added as they turned a corner, entering into the small parking lot by the moderately sized building – Hansen and Co. Accounting Firm – Selena read, as well as the lame tagline ‘Accountants you can COUNT on!’, rolling her eyes at that.

“Hey kid…” she heard her father calling, turning her head to see that he hadn’t gone back into the building like she thought she would. Instead, he had entered further into the parking lot, standing at the red Honda, his car, opening it up to pull out a small, folded cardboard box. He held it up to her, causing her to walk the necessary steps until she was, once more, standing before him.

“What is it?” she asked, taking the box into her hands. It was sturdy and quite heavy.

“Your mother and I were going through some old stuff in our cellar and found it.”

Carefully opening the box, Selena gasped as she beheld the metal handle and frame, recognizing the carving and décor that wrapped around the both. With a trembling, pale hand, she wrapped her fingers around the handle to lift the item up, turning it around to allow the reflective surface to face her, her own reflection staring back at her.

“You recognize it?” her father asked knowingly, earning a small nod from Selena.

“Grandmother’s hand-mirror.” She whispered. “It’s…” she tried fight back against the shakiness of her breath at seeing and holding the item again, but it was a fruitless endeavor. “It was the only thing she brought with her from home when her and Grandfather Clark fled the Nazi invasion of Poland.”

“That’s what your mother said too.” He nodded in affirmation.

Biting her lower lip, Selena could not help the childish wonder that escaped her as she eyed her father. “Did she also tell you it was magic? Like enchanted?”

The remark caused Jonathan to raise an eyebrow in surprise. “She did not.” He answered.

Biting her lower lip in delight, the platinum-blonde. “Well, it’s a funny trick. But grandmother used to say that if you hold it just right – and I mean JUST right, like at a certain angle or something, the mirror could show you your ‘true reflection’. What was in your heart.” She stopped to eye the object in her hands. “I thought I’d never see it again. I used to play with it all the time…”

“Irena let you?”

Selena nodded. “She trusted me.” Before sighing again. “Wish more people did.” She whispered under her breath before speaking up again. “Mother- I mean, Anastasia – said that she had gotten rid of all of grandmother’s things after you disappeared…”

“Well, in a way, she did.” VanHohenheim shrugged. “Truthfully, I don’t remember anything about her. My own mother…”

Despite her joy at the sight of the mirror, Selena could not ignore the slight hurt in her father’s voice. She could only imagine what he was feeling in that moment. She had always hated the woman she had known so long as her mother, and she now had a healthy relationship with her real mother… for the most part. But to forget either of them? She couldn’t imagine that.

“I think you should hold onto it.” She quickly shoved the mirror into her father’s hands, yet was surprised when he pushed it back into hers.
“No.” he stated firmly. “I’ve held onto it for years now. I didn’t even see any value in it when I found it. But I knew you would. It’s more precious to you than it is to me.”

“But…it’s your mother’s…” Selena tried.

“And even knowing that, my face didn’t light up as yours did when I held it. It belongs with you, Selena.” With that last part said in finality, Jonathan turned away, walking back towards the building of his work, leaving the mirror in Selena’s hands.

“Thank you!” she called out, earning a wave from the older man, though he didn’t look back as disappeared into the building through the front door.

Alone in the parking lot, Selena gazed down at the object in her hand, turning the mirror over to gaze at her reflection again. “At just the right angle…” she thought, turning the object left and right, up and down.

Only herself stared back. No real change. She had never found the ‘magic view’ that her grandmother spoke of with such faith and conviction. Even so, Selena could help the smile that came to her face at having the mirror with her again. Quietly, she began the walk down the streets, heading back towards her castle in Eyrie Tower.

A true reflection… she heard the quiet murmurs of her devil-mind. That’s the endgame… Where you show all of them:

SCW. Kandis. The Aldens.

Show them all – and show Deanna – how ugly they truly are – and make them see just how beneath you they always were…

Now that was an end goal the Blue-Eyed Devil could believe in…

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

The Royal Letter

The scene opens up to the balcony a lavish hotel room. Even from behind the separating door’s glass, one can see the quality of the room, complete with a large bed, framed pictures for décor, television, furniture, the rich colors that line the carpets, walls, and match the fine mattresses and pillows. All from such a glance screams “5-star” status and as the door opens, a figure is revealed: None other than the SCW world champion, Selena Frost. She wears a black, shimmering robe that flows down her form, wrapped snugly around her trim frame. A slight slit in the front reveals a bit of her toned legs as she walks and adjusts her platinum-blonde braid, twirling it around in her fingers as she breathes deeply, enjoying the morning air on the balcony.  

So…Glendale, Arizona… she smiles a little. Or rather, since I’m not staying there for this weekend, perhaps I should say – Phoenix, Arizona… she stares at the camera, a smirk on her face. Do you believe?

Content with not receiving an answer from the city below, the Blue-Eyed Devil makes herself comfortable on a throne chair, blood-red in color and yet, very comfortable looking. Beside her is a table where the SCW world championship title belt sits, along with a rather lovely looking breakfast spread of fruits, eggs, bread, condiments, and a cup of coffee.

Don’t worry, Glendale. I’ll be travelling the necessary miles to be where I am supposed to be for this weekend. I just rather be living my best life where I want. And it sure as hell isn’t going to be where I can hear your fickle, idiotic little chants of ‘We don’t believe!’. How original… she rolls her eyes at that.

Do you guys ever get tired of being made fools of? I know Kandis doesn’t. They say ‘fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me’, right? But what the hell do you do for someone that’s been fooled over and over again? Who’s been played over and over again? she seems to consider that for a second. I guess you just call them an idiot, right? You call them a fool, right? You call them out on their stupidity.

But before I get into all that, let me tell you what I believe… Reaching out with her hand, Selena takes up the ‘breakfast spread’ on the nearby table, specifically the cup of steaming coffee, adding sugar and cream to it before sipping it a little. Taking another sip, she holds the cup in her hands as she gazes out over the balcony to the city of Phoenix below.

I believe that the more things change, the more they stay the same…

I mean, let’s think about it for one second, difficult for some of you, I realize, but I digress. The last time I defended this championship belt… no, wait, let me clarify. I ALREADY defended this championship belt and, unlike Kandis, I didn’t have to have my opponent DQed in order to retain in my first title defense. But patience, people, and allow me to clarify. The last time I defended this championship belt on a Pay-Per-View… let me see. I was being hated and vilified despite doing nothing wrong and my opponent was bitching and crying every chance she got about “it should be me! I should be champion! I should have the title shot! I should have the belt! I’m gonna fuck Selena Frost up!”

Now here we are, over seven months later, and… she tilts her head. I’m being hated and vilified despite doing nothing wrong and my opponent is bitching and crying every chance she gets about “It should be me! I should be champion! I should have the title shot! I should have the belt! I’m gonna fuck Selena Frost up!” she chuckles a little before shaking her head. Déjà vu, am I right?

A little laugh escapes her before she sips a bit more of her coffee. Mmm, that’s good. She remarks before placing the cup back on the table and then relaxing back into her chair.

But I can understand Kandis’ mentality. It’s not really hard considering how immature it is and how low it is – clearly on all of your levels, like the bottom floor of this hotel kind of low. See, Kandis has got it in her head that “this way works”, right? “I beat Selena Frost doing this same stuff so if I do it again, I’m gonna WIN again!”, right? I mean, how else do we explain that the only thing she’s been able to talk about show after show since I won this title, aside from the aforementioned whining, is how she ‘beat me’ back in Toronto? she uses quotation marks for indicated words.

I mean, it’s all the same, right? ‘Whine about not facing, Asher. I beat Selena Frost. Whine about me jumping ahead of her. I beat Selena Frost. Whine about me doing what she couldn’t really do with destroying Asher Hayes. I beat Selena Frost.’ Like it’s the greatest accomplishment she ever achieved.

Well, because it is… Her tone changes from amused to serious.

Let’s face it, Kandis. You owe everything you have right now to me. Where you’re at, the adulation, hell the very rematch CHBK is giving you? You owe to me. Because your greatest accomplishment wasn’t winning the Taking Hold of the Flame royale – regardless of how you did it – and it wasn’t the fact that you headlined Rise to Greatness. It wasn’t even the fact that you were the world champion.

It was the fact that you managed to defeat the greatest world champion of all time: Selena Frost.

She flinches a little at that statement, a whisper of anger appearing on her face and in her voice.

Because of one match, you went from irrelevancy, to history-making. You went from a loud-mouth, attention-desperate, “shameless” person and became the ‘favourite’ of the SCW Universe. At least for a time. Because of me, you became somebody, when, for most of your career, you’ve been a nobody. Scratch that, since you couldn’t really do anything without Tommy Valentine or the Jackals holding your hand, you were really just a fraction of that, weren’t you? I mean, the only reason these people love is because of how much they hate me! Hell, they were cheering Asher Hayes when he face me! Asher Hayes! So, of course they’ll love you when you’re up against me.

Now, I’m not expecting a thank you for all of this, Kandis. That would require humility and honesty, and you’ve got neither, just like the marks and idiots sitting in the audience that think they can still get to me with their boos and their insults. The smile returns to the platinum-blonde’s face. I’m not expecting anything from you, Kandis, other than the same old same old remarks about the past, maybe a few tweets lining up on X because the truth hurts your little feelings. Maybe a repeat from your last promo at Rise about how ‘shameless’ you are and how I ‘can’t get to you’, right?

But maybe we should add ‘brainless’ to that nickname as well. Because you seem to think that nothing has changed between you and me. That nothing has changed on MY end of things. And if that were true… she tilts her head. Explain to me how I’ve made you my little bitch week after week? the smile that comes to her is a bit more vicious than the last.

I mean, I’ve got you running around, smashing monitors, storming into CHBK’s office crying your eyes out, I’ve got you attacking innocent superstars for no other reason other than to try and ‘stick it to me’… and failing every time you try. I’ve got you jumping on tables, blindly signing contracts, hell, I’ll wager I could get you to disqualify yourself this weekend if I try hard enough… and I haven’t even laid a hand on you yet!

Point is, Kandis, I’ve been playing you from the get-go. I’ve been making YOU dance to MY tune this time around. Last time? You were the one with the mind games. You were the one calling the shots with your rumors and your lack of integrity. You were the one that was in control and living rent-free in my head.

Now? she shrugs. I don’t care who you sleep with. I don’t care what you got. I don’t care how mad you are or how ‘shameless’ you are. You’re just someone that I’ve got to beat and someone that I am GOING to beat this Sunday in Glendale.

She chuckles a little. And the beautiful thing about it is, Kandis, is that when I do? It’s going to be all YOUR fault! Because you think that you won last time all on your own. That you, and you alone, were responsible for taking the world title from me and driving me out of SCW!

No, Kandis, what Toronto was… what Rise to Greatness was… was every star in the galaxy aligning just for you.

You had your mind games with me.
You had the fans siding with you and getting to me.
You had CHBK as an official, messing with my head.
You had me worn out and thrown off by the fans and by management.
You had all the momentum coming from one royale win while I was weary and broken spiritually from the past year.

You had EVERYTHING lined up for you. EVERYTHING working in your favor… and even with all of that, you STILL needed TWO Starmakers just to get me down for a three count! she glares at the camera.

Now? You don’t have your mind games.
You don’t have a special official to mess with me.
You don’t have me worn out and weary, but hungry and driven to fix this little mistake that exists.
You don’t have any momentum, do you? Say you set Konrad Raab on fire, but at least he PINNED you when he beat you, covered in lube…

A chuckle escapes Selena. Shameless or not, that was fun for me to watch. Put a lot of things in perspective about how ‘good’ you are, Kandis. I mean, if he and The One can beat you… she shakes her head with a smile. And that just drives the point home that what happened in Toronto was a damn fluke. A mistake. It shouldn’t have happened, and it WON’T happen again, especially this weekend!

Because now? The official is MY choice.
The fans have ZERO effect on me.
I hold all the momentum.
And all because of you…

Again that wicked grin crosses her features. I mean, you could have read that contract more clearly, but you didn’t. You could have THOUGHT about why I would want Aaron Demitra as the official but you didn’t. And you could have just LET me have my championship match against Religious Wright, like I did for your match with Ace Sky – giving yourself the opportunity to see what I am capable of. Giving yourself the chance to study me and see how much different I am in this ring than last time we fought. After all, if I did what you couldn’t do and knock Asher Hayes out and scare him right out of SCW… her grin widens. You had EVERY opportunity to prepare yourself and have ‘your best shot’ this weekend against me, Kandis. But you threw it all away.

You signed the contract without reading it.
You agreed to my demands without thinking about it.
You attacked my opponent and turned my match into the shortest world title match in SCW history.

Now, you have nothing on me. You know nothing about me, while I have everything and know everything about you… and it’s all your fault…

Hell, it’s your fault that I shot ahead of you like I did. Yeah, it’s not management and it’s not CHBK. It’s you.

She gives a shrug. Because let’s face it! The experiment that was “Kandis as World Champion” was an absolute failure!

I was out of the way, Kandis! You were supposed to be the greatest champion since… well, me! You were supposed to rule this place with the SCW Universe behind you! You were supposed to be ‘the one person good enough to beat Selena Frost’ and, thus, the most dominant champion in SCW now! Isn’t that what you promised? To be champion for a long time? Selena tilts her head. What happened?

Your first night? You got knocked to the ground and embarrassed.
Your first title defense? You won by DQ and got the world title stolen.
Your only true successful title defense? Was pinning an old man that’s been retired for years and hasn’t won a title since gods know when!
And then? Three months into the new season, you lose the title!

The Blue-Eyed devil laughs a little. You want to know why I got the shot that was ‘meant to be yours’, Kandis? Why management gave in to my demands? It’s because you FAILED as a world champion. Because they KNEW you – the supposed ‘Ass of SCW’ - couldn’t beat Asher Hayes on your own. They KNEW you couldn’t get the job done! Just like they knew that I could. That’s the bear bones about it, Kandis. I’m here as the world champion because you couldn’t do your job! I’m the world champion because you failed at being what I have been for nearly a decade – the very BEST in professional wrestling!

I’m the world champion because SCW knows – including CHBK knowing – that you should NEVER have been the world champion to begin with!

Calming herself a little, Selena grins before pushing herself out of her chair, making her way to the balcony. So, I want you to do something for me, Kandis. You’ve got a couple of days before this match, a couple of days to take it all in… so do what you’ve done every time you’ve opened your mouth… talk about me.

Tell everyone the story you can’t seem to stop repeating. Tell everyone the story about how you beat the greatest world champion of all time, Selena Frost, on the grandest stage of them all!

Tell everyone! Tell your fuck buddies. Tell your stylist! Tell the cab driver. Tell your husband. Tell your family. Tell every Make-A-Wish person SCW sends you to! Whatever you can to feel that incredible feeling you’ve been riding on since July.

I’m serious, Kandis! Tell everyone! Tell every soul and every fan and every loved one and every person in Glendale!

Because after Sunday… once more, that wicked grin spreads across Selena’s face. After Sunday, every time you tell that story, it won’t sit in your mind – in your soul – the same way. It’s not going bring that same feeling of pride and accomplishment. It’s not going to give you that positive feeling it used to. Because, when I’m done with you, you’ll know what I know. What everybody, all of SCW, deep down knows.

That your ‘greatest story’? Your ‘greatest moment in your career’? Was just that. A moment. A lucky break. That deep down, you got lucky and deep down, every time you think of that moment, you’ll know that’s all it was and that I was and am and always will be better than you. As a woman, as a wrestler, as the world champion! That what you had was a miracle… and miracles don’t happen twice, Kandis.

After this weekend, you’ll know your place in MY world. It’s not ‘the ender’ or ‘the better woman’. No, you’ll just be another Adam Allocco, another Ace Marshall, another Xander Valentine, another Vixen Cain. People that had their ‘moment’ with me, their own lucky break, their own ‘miracle match’… before they were exposed and destroyed by me!

With a cold glare, Selena looks out among the city of Phoenix, looking further out, as if she can see Glendale in the distance. Before they were made a footnote – mere moments, no bigger than the people below me now – in MY story. You’ll know, Kandis, that you’re nothing more than a passing glance – a visitor in MY kingdom. MY ring. MY SCW! MY legacy as the SCW World Champion!

You’ll know it, Kandis.
Your hookups will know it.
Your students will know it.
Your fans will know it.
Your husband will know it.
And your family will know it…

Looking down on everyone within her sight, the Snow Queen allows one more devilish grin to show on her face. And you’ll only have yourself to blame for it.

Whether you… and your family… want to believe it or not.

The camera pans out to reveal the city below, everything appearing so small from so far away, the Queen standing on high, before the shot fades entirely to black.

[Kandis.]

Retribution 2024