Selena Frost vs. Asher Hayes

[SnowQueenSCW]

OOC: Second. Makes references to Deanna’s past roleplays throughout this SCW season and immediately follows the first roleplay.

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

The Witches of Alden

”Happy”

Frost ‘Forever Home’
Manhattan, New York
December 15th, 2023
9:01pm

"It’s not that easy.” Selena pushed herself away from her former ‘caretaker’ and ‘guardian’, the Snow Queen backing up from the ghost her mind had summoned in its anger/desperation mixture, yet refusing to look away from her.

“It is.” Anastasia DeCarlo replied, the black-dress wearing woman smiling simply at Selena. “Stop caring. Stop worrying what they think. Do whatever you want and whatever is best for you.”

“It isn’t that easy and you know it!” Selena snapped back, yet earned no readable reaction from Anastasia. “You’re telling me to turn on everything – and don’t give me that look!” she barked at the ghost. “That’s exactly what you are asking! I’ve spent a decade being called out on being ‘just about to do that’! Not just accept being hated. No! That’s not good enough!” the Snow Queen laughed bitterly at the woman. “You’re asking me to throw it ALL back in their faces! To make every single person pay for making me do this in the first place! For holding every person in SCW accountable for whatever part they played! You’re asking me to…to…”

“Yes?” Anastasia asked with a patient tilt of her head.

“You’re asking me to be you…” Selena slowly whispered out, the conclusion she had drawn long ago about returning to SCW no less horrifying to part of her as it was enticing to another part of her.

“I am asking you to be ‘us’.” Anastasia corrected mysteriously. “I am asking you to finally be the woman we tried for so many years to help you be.”

“Through torture!” Selena spat. “You wanted me to be another you! A remorseless monster! Focused only on whatever she wanted and on power.”

“In a world that was ready to chew me up and destroy me the moment I showed any weakness.” Anastasia calmly threw back. “Tell me I am wrong. You lived there. When you were the cold ‘Snow Queen’. The pariah of Nome! Tell me how that is any different from how I was?”

“Aside from the murder and destroying your own family?” Selena asked incredulously. “Oh, not much-“

“Perhaps.” Anastasia observed. “But face it. You were untouchable then. No one could faze you.”
“I was miserable!” Selena all but shouted back. “I was drinking my life away and deluding myself with a child made of snow! How is that preferrable to the life I have now?!”

“Because it was honest!” Anastasia finally shouted, effectively silencing Selena’s defiance. “Yes, it was delusional and destructive, but at least you were honest with yourself. You could ADMIT that you were drinking yourself into oblivion. You BELIEVED your snow child was real. Everything about you was honest. Painful and cold, but honest. Not like this… not like now.”

“I have been honest…” Selena tried but the response sounded lame even to her.

“Then why are you here, standing in this room… with me?” Anastasia countered with ease. “Because you haven’t been honest with yourself. You’ve deluded yourself into trying to be ‘the perfect mother’ and ‘the perfect housewife’ when that isn’t who you are. Deanna saw it, Alejandra saw it, Eric saw it… You are a fighter, Selena. You always have been. From the moment you were born, to when Gavin and his friends bullied you, to the town that hated you and your father… what is SCW now? More of ‘those’ people. More of the ‘haters’ that unfairly drove you to exile and isolation because you were what? Just someone that believed in something? Someone that honestly fought for those beliefs?”

While Selena refused to consent and admit to such thoughts, she couldn’t outright refuse them either. The hatred SCW had shown her since early 2023 till now… it still made no sense! Not even Sharper and Knots, veterans of the business – not even D. – had been able to make sense of it! It was unfair to a degree that could not be denied by anyone… and yes… it was so much like Nome had been. How she had been hated and vilified simply because she had believed in her father’s declarations of gold inside the mine he owned – beliefs that he had been proven RIGHT about!

“The Crazy Miner’s Daughter…” she wasn’t sure whether the whisper came from her or Anastasia. Maybe both…

That’s what they had called Selena. Everywhere she had gone in that small town, she was met with hatred and contempt. Residents would stare daggers at her when she went out and throw snide comments about her and her father while they passed. Gavin and his friends harassed her into adulthood and nothing was ever done about it no matter who knew about it. She had had no control over any aspect of her life…

She had needed to become cold. She had needed to become distant. She had needed to treat them as they had treated her…. It had been the only way she could possibly survive back then. She had embraced the nickname of ‘The Snow Queen’ – even when part of her had hated it - and become untouchable, even if part of her had still ached for love and a family. It had been a miserable existence and mentality, but one where she had been able to at least survive and function.

But that was the problem.

“I don’t want to merely ‘survive’ and ‘function’ like I did with such a mentality, mother.” Selena spoke, turning her gaze back over to her mother. “I want to thrive... I want to excel! I want to be…” she couldn’t put that last part into words because it was merely emotion. She wasn’t sure what to name it or identify it as. “More.” She settled on saying.

“Like I did.” Anastasia smiled knowingly as she stood before her stepdaughter, earning a cold glare from the young Frost. “You’ve lived the life of love, family, and being the best in the business. Now, you want both. You want the family but to be untouchable. You want the love but also the power, don’t you?”

It was enough for DeCarlo to sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. “Alright, Selena.” She acquiesced. “Answer me this honestly and I will leave.” Dark eyes bore into Selena’s once more. “We both know what you will be after once you go back to SCW. There is really only one place for you to go.” Her eyes narrowed, shooting straight to the heart of the matter. “The world championship.”

She didn’t need to say anything else but those three words. Because they were beyond true. This wasn’t like her past losses like with Vixen Cain, Ace Marshall, Cid Turner, or Adam Allocco. She couldn’t just return and ‘wait her turn’ or ‘take a roundabout way’. She had done that over and over again – her last one needing her nearly a year to reacquire the world championship. No… that would do anything. That would say nothing about her return. She’d be forgotten, dismissed… No, she needed to return and immediately target the world championship – leave no doubt that she was on the hunt. But… she had been gone for four months… the world title had changed hands already, may even change hands again before she got her shot. IF she would get her shot. “But…” she heard her stepmother call out, regaining her attention. “Saying you get your chance, do you honestly think you can beat Asher Hayes as you are now?”

No immediate answer came, which only further prompted Anastasia’s line of questioning. “You’ve watched him. How he cheats. How he lies. How he manages to break the rules and steal his victories. He will do all of that against you. Can you beat him as you are now? Playing fair? Willingly giving him that advantage?” Another tilt of the head. “And what if it’s not Asher… what if it’s Deanna?”

Selena’s eyes widened at the sudden switch in direction, earning a laugh from DeCarlo. “Oh come on! You saw her at Under Attack! Do you honestly believe that she isn’t a frontrunner for the End of the Year title shot? What if she does get chosen AND becomes world champion? Can you honestly return and go up against her right away? Can you fight her? Ruin her first reign that is making her career?” Dark eyes narrowed. “Can you, as you are, hurt her?”

No… The answer, to which question, Selena wasn’t sure, formed immediately in her mind, earning a knowing nod from Anastasia, as if the ghost had heard the very thought though it remained silent. No, as she was… Selena couldn’t harm Deanna. As she was… she couldn’t beat Asher Hayes.

Her last match proved that. She had, simply been, too thrown off – to the point even Knots and Sharper had noticed it. The fans hating her, CHBK (despicable shit that he was) as the official referee, and everything Kandis had said and done, making Selena focus wholly on the integrity of SCW? She had been nowhere near the level she had been at even at the beginning of the year. She had been off her game from the start, unable to dig as deep, think as quick, focus as hard. It had just been… too much.

If THAT was who was coming back to SCW to face the world champion – Asher Hayes or otherwise – her stepmother was right… Selena wouldn’t have a chance. Asher would cheat her out of the match. She’d have to quit if it was Deanna… her return would be an utter embarrassment if she came back as she had been back in July.

But what was the alternative?

“You’re forgetting one thing, mother, in all of this.” She whispered, her hand reaching up to grip a nearby shelf for a little support.

“Am I?” Anastasia asked patiently. “What is that?”
“Deanna.”
“I believed I mentioned her already-“

“No.” Selena barked back, turning to glare at the apparition. “I mean my wife. Not the SCW superstar. My wife, Deanna.” She took a deep breath. “Who I am – who I was – whatever!” she didn’t mean to yell that last word, it just came out in her frustration. “That is who Deanna fell in love with! The integrity. The passion. The beliefs of bettering SCW and fighting for all of those beliefs? That is who she fell in love with! That is who she wants back in SCW!”

“When you’re ready to be the woman I married… the woman I never stopped believing in… the woman that believed in doing good for everyone… why don’t you give me a call, okay?”

“She wants the woman I used to be. The woman that can’t survive in this new SCW. If I change that… if I change…” she shook her head, the certainty of her next words the driving force for her hesitation since day one. “She’ll leave me.”

The statement gripped at Selena’s heart, causing her to look away from her ‘visitor’, her eyes eventually finding the picture on the wall: Herself and Deanna at Under Attack last year, holding their newly won SCW World tag-team championship belts. She saw the smile on both their faces and the love in their eyes. How she longed to go back to that time, before it all had changed because of one stupid Trios-created match…

“There. I admit it, mother… Are you happy now?” she felt herself half-cry that last part. “I… I can’t be both.” Her fingertips touched the picture. “I can’t be what I need to be in SCW to thrive… and be Deanna’s wife… She’ll never accept me.”

“And where is she now?”

The question from Anastasia forced Selena to turn and, once more, face her, the younger woman feeling her stomach drop at the rhetorical question. The stepmother’s expression was far more knowing and calm as she merely kept her eyes on her stepdaughter.

“It’s too late now, and you know it, Selena. She’s already slipping away… and you’re already changing…” she gave an almost sad smile, as if part of her could spare her daughter the fate that was unfolding. “You just haven’t realized it yet…”


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

West End Bar and Grill
Manhattan, New York
December 9th, 2023
11:11pm

Selena quietly looked around nervously, unable to full appreciate the setting of the bar and grill due to her hoodie impairing most of her peripheral vision. Not for the first time that night, the former wrestler regretted coming here. No, this wasn’t some loud, obnoxious nightclub with blaring music like she used to go to with Regan Street, her sister basically. This place had some semblance of quiet and reserve to it.

Should have gone to Toni’s… Again, not the first time she had made that thought either. Of course she had wanted to go to her favorite restaurant, but that was precisely the reason why she couldn’t. Because it wasn’t just ‘her’ restaurant, but ‘hers’ and ‘Deanna’s’ favorite haunt. It was too full of memories. One of their first dates, the number of nights they had gone their to plan their wedding, anniversaries – the platinum-blonde had needed to clear her head! Not fill it with memories of a forgotten time that was slowly, but surely, slipping out of her hands.

Still, thinking of Toni’s had given her an idea – at least the last time she had been there, which was why she had hadn’t intended to be alone here. Casting her gaze up, the young woman spotted the thin, almost worryingly so, as she pranced and skipped and sauntered her way from the bar where she had ordered and gathered her drink until she was sitting opposite side of Selena at the table.

“I knew I was right about this place!” Stallis remarked with a grin, smiling in delight at her hooded company. “Ozzie’s been talking about this place for a while. Says it’s a real ‘boys’ club’.

“If you thought that…” Selena asked with a tilt of her head with confusion. “Why did you suggest it?”

“Oh… a few reasons.” The younger woman teased Selena with a flick of her tongue pointed her way. “Sometimes, I just like to get out and… be appreciated for how I look.”

The remark surprised Selena, causing the Snow Queen to jerk back a little. “Are…are you working or something, Stallis?”

Despite the implication of the statement, the blonde was patient as she shook her head at Selena. “No, I don’t do that anymore.” She reminded the former wrestler. “But I mean… sometimes I like to get noticed… in a good way.”

“What you mean like… hit on?”

A slight blush, seeming more of guilt than anything else, primed across Tallis’ features. “I…not in that way… I mean, yes that way but…” her eyes darted up to meet Selena’s. “I swear, I would never cheat on Asmodeus, okay? You know that, right? I love my Ozzie-“

“Stallis, calm down.” Selena urged reaching out on instinct to grasp the woman’s hands into her own. “I wasn’t implying anything like that, okay? And I’m hardly in a position to talk about that with how my marriage is going.”

“Still on the rocks?”

“We’re talking about you.” Selena remarked quickly, doing her best to instantly shoot down the topic-change.

The woman’s voice trailed off. “Right…” she whispered, her hands clumsily playing with her white, backless dress. “Okay…so… what I meant when I said that I liked to be appreciated for how I look – yeah, hit on – it’s just… well, you know what I am.” She shrugged. “And some days, it’s hard… you know… to live like that… see yourself as what you want to be? And it helps me to kind of… go out and be appreciated for it…”

It took a moment for Selena to put the pieces together from Stallis’ statement, but the inevitable “Oh… I see.” Eventually came out. Stallis had only truly attempted to embrace her life as a transgender-woman for the past two or three years. And while Selena thought she looked beautiful, and was sure Asmodeus (if he had half-a-brain) thought so, there was something to be said about strangers appreciating (or even confusing) Stallis as simply a ‘woman’ or ‘cis-woman’ as the terminology went. It wasn’t deception, Selena was sure, that Stallis was looking for, more acceptance that “she is a woman” kind of thing. In a way, Selena could relate to that. It had always felt different and, at times, more special to have SCW fans come up to her and say that she was ‘their favorite wrestler’ or that they had ‘this match’ of hers and that ‘it was their favorite’.

It felt good, so Selena could understand that in Stallis to an extent. But that was her career. This was Stallis’ very identity. Besides, it wasn’t like Selena was out to get any attention now these days. Yes, she still saw her action figures and some remnants of the days where SCW slapped her face on everything with its merchandising. Hell, she had seen her and Deanna’s faces, The House of Frost, on kids vitamins – THAT had been a surprise and a half for the couple! Selena had bought bottle of it, never used it, just to show Deanna that day! They had had a good laugh over it.

But be that as it may, there was no denying for the platinum-blonde that her presence in the world of ‘products’ and ‘celebrities’ was diminishing ever since she walked out of SCW and, for the first part, that had been great. She actually didn’t mind it. After all, she had wanted nothing to do with SCW after Rise to Greatness. Besides, it wasn’t like they had a lack of ‘star power’ without her! Kandis had been the world champion to start off the season and then there was…

There was…

Despite herself and the current discussion, Selena found herself actually wracking her brain for more examples. Yes, she didn’t really watch SCW or talk about it, purposefully, but she had sat through as an audience-in-attendance Under Attack (in secret) to watch over Deanna and that chamber match. So, she knew majority of the roster. But, even running through the card she had watched in her head, and every superstar that had been on it… few names popped up with equivalent ‘star power’ to her.

Sure there was still Syren but that woman was so outdated that it was almost a joke to associate her with the world title these days. At the rate she was going, Syren would never achieve ten wins in a row to be considered for the world title. As for the rest of her associates? Well, maybe Ravyn, but that was it. And then there was Bree Lancaster on a REALLY good day, sure! Then there was… there was…

No! That was it! There was nobody that screamed “SUPER STAR” like she had been. Nobody that had was a big name or a seller or anything compared to her time in the main-event picture. No wonder Asher can rant and rave like he can about being the ‘only choice for the world title’… She thought for a moment. Damn process of elimination. No one’s left except him!

But it wasn’t like it was hopeless! Because it wasn’t, Selena knew that! She had seen Deanna put on a hell of a show! Light in the Darkness – Fuck, Selena was so proud of them! – were tag-team champions at last! It wasn’t that there was no hope for SCW talent-wise. It’s just that SCW was in transition with this new direction, however fucked up it may be. And while the fans made no sense and she had no reason to trust CHBK, there was hope that the talent would rise up and get better. Deanna, Amelia, Luz, Cassie Wolfe, there were so many new wrestlers that could REACH the heights of superstardom someday. But now?

Giving her head a proper shake, Selena tried to refocus on the item that had been in front of her since she had sat down and ordered. The tall glass ‘stared’ back at her, the dark amber liquid undisturbed. It was hard at first, the guys standing at the bar, seeming staring in her direction, was a bit of a throw off, but she dismissed it-

“Selena?” Stallis’ voice, naturally light but a deeper tone than Selena’s, flicked in her ears, causing Selena to lift her head – when had she lowered it?

“Sorry.” She offered lamely, adjusting her hood a little. “I sort of got lost in thought. But I understand what you were saying about wanting some recognition. I, sort of, and I only mean sort of, can understand that. Career-wise, I’m kind of like that.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask about that.” Stallis remarked, tilting her head a little and resting her head against a supporting hand.

“About my career?” Selena raised an eyebrow.

“More about you.” Came the honest reply. “You sounded rather upset on the phone. Well… not upset just…”
“Desperate?”
“I was going to say ‘in need of a distraction’?” Stallis chose her words carefully, even speaking them a little slower, as if on shaky grounds. “This about Deanna?”

“No…yes…it’s about everything.” She sighed before she finally broke into an explanation. She tried to explain how SCW was still trying to get her attention with their videos and promotion. How she had forced herself to watch Fatal Fortunes, with her name being brought up at least once every half hour or so. How she had breathed a sigh of relief when the episode had ended and nothing about her had shown up after that. How she had then sent herself into a panic about the second/upcoming week.

“Maybe they realized their mistake?” Stallis offered with a shrug, earning a snort from Selena.

That idea was rich! Not that SCW was incapable of making mistakes, but rather incapable of owning up to it. There was no way they were going to tell the fans the truth.

“They won’t risk losing ticket sales.” Selena sighed knowingly. “They’ll probably hold off on saying anything until they have to.”
“Sounds shady.”
“What part of ‘Card Subject to Change’ sounds not-shady?” Selena raised an eyebrow.

A moment passed between the two of them, Stallis biting her lower lip as she tried to think of something to say. Selena’s eyes refocused on the beer mug.

“I have a question.” Came Stallis voice again. “You don’t drink-“
“No, I do drink.” Selena laughed. “That’s why I’m a recovering alcoholic. I drank too much.”

“Not clever.” Stallis pffted at the former wrestler. “I mean, you don’t drink alcohol now. So why did you order one?”

For a moment, Selena kept her eyes on the beverage in front of her, watching the liquid move only when something disturbed it nearby. Other than that, not a drop had been drank or spilled. A sad smile forming over her face, Selena lifted her gaze back up to Stallis.

“Honestly?”
“Yeah.” The thin woman shrugged.
“Because it’s the only thing I can control right now.”

She saw the confused expression form on Stallis fair features, causing a slight, understanding laugh to escape the Snow Queen before it faded away as she adopted Stallis posture of head-resting-on-hand. “Sounds lame, but I don’t… Nothing feels in my control again. I mean, it’s worse than when I was still a wrestler throughout the year.”

“When people were booing you for no reason?”

“That.” Selena sighed. “But now? This is worse. My mother, my friends, my wife, they all want me to go back to that place that I hate. And the place I hate… I mean, they gave a hero’s farewell to so many people like Owen Cruze. But they keep trying to get me to come back to. It’s like nobody can let me go… and now… now I am missing it too.”

“You miss being a wrestler?”

Selena nodded her head a little. “My mother made me realize it not to long ago. That I’m just as bad as they are because I care about what they say about me and what they do about my name and my legacy and…well, all of that… but I can’t stop them. I can’t control it. And I can’t control my family from not mentioning it. And I can’t change ANY of it… so… Zero control. All I can control is myself… so…” she gestured to the drink in front of her, watching as Stallis’ face suddenly lit up with understanding.

“You ordered the drink to put temptation on yourself… so you can chose to overcome it and control any cravings or slips.”

“Lame, I know.” Selena shrugged in mild self amusement/pity. “But it’s all I have right now.”

“You know…” Stallis reached over to sip her own drink, perhaps driven by Selena’s silent refusal to drink at all. “If I were you…” she cast an eye at Selena before backpedaling. “Sorry. You don’t want my opinion. I don’t know a thing about wrestling.”

“Oh, no please.” Selena smiled, a spark of amusement forming in her chest. “I would love to hear your opinion on this, Stallis. I mean it.”
“Really?” Selena almost giggled as she saw the smaller woman’s eyes just light up.

“You kidding? A sassy, take-no-crap gal like you? After the few weeks I’ve had? I NEED to hear this!”

Biting her lower lip a little shyly, the dark-eyed blonde suddenly shifted forward, leaning in. “Well! If I were you… I’d not wait for Deanna to come home! I’d roll right over to work for that second week of Fatal Fortunes! I’d march into the ring and tell them all to ‘suck it! And leave me alone!’ and then march right out, maybe even flipping off the crowd while I did it!”

The loudest snort came from Selena as the platinum-blonde half-laughed, half-choked out a response. “Oh my god…” she sputtered in-between her laugh. “That would be so perfect!”
“Really?!” Stallis asked in delight, earning another laugh from her old friend.

“Oh gods… can you imagine! Marching right past Deanna, right past Alex, getting in the ring and telling all of them to just stick it?”
“Well, I said ‘suck it’.”
“Fine…” Selena struggled to get the word out. “Suck it!”
“THERE WE GO!” Stallis cheered her friend, even adding a little ‘Wooo!’ at the end, earning a few errant looks from around them and from the bar-group.

“Yeah, they can ‘suck it!’.” Selena repeated, actually enjoying the notion.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Selena could only nod at that. Gods, it sounded so wonderful. After all the months they had put her through? Throwing her off on her matches with their hate? Management doing nothing to help her but toss her into situations she couldn’t win. Agreeing to Kimberly William’s insane Trios match? Making it impossible for the House of Frost to retain their titles that way and sticking her with Ace Marshall? Making CHBK the official in a match that didn’t concern him? Gods, how Selena wished she had said so much more along the lines of ‘suck it’ when she had walked out. A long sigh escaped her.

“It’s too late for that anyway.” She looked back sadly at Stallis. “I’d probably just make things worse for Deanna if I did. She’s still there – they’re still her boss.”

“Oh yeah…” Stallis voice trailed off. “But still… I’d love to see you get all sassy and ‘zero fucks to give’ over there.”

Again, Selena smiled silently at that. It was so enticing an idea. What if she finally did it? For years, every person in SCW she had faced had declared she was just ‘a fake’ or ‘hiding her true colors’ or ‘fooling everyone’. What if she finally did it? What if she came back and just cared only about herself and her own path in SCW, letting the SCW Universe… ‘suck it’… if they had a problem with it?

“Ah…” she sighed. “I don’t think I could justify it in my head.” Selena finally answered. “I mean… that’s the real issue. If I don’t believe in something fully, how can I do it or be it, you know? I can’t just ‘be selfish’ or ‘be evil’ anymore than I can change the color of my eyes.” She sighed. “Guess that’s my curse, huh?”

Stallis was silent, slowly reaching over to take one of Selena’s hands into her own for comfort. Offering her friend a warm smile, the woman squeezed the hand gently. “You’ll figure it out, Selena. You just got to find a way to believe in it and be happy.”

Releasing a breath, Selena was about to speak before her eyes shot up at the movement caught in her line of sight. Before her, she spied the group of men that had been standing by the bar for the majority of time she had come here – eyeing her table… or eyeing her. Now, they were headed towards her. She did a quick tally in her head – three men, all rather large and clearly not seen a gym in years. One wore a trucker hat and a gray-blue coat. Another was bald and wore flannel and jeans. The third had more beard than face and some kind of Viking sweater that he had probably bought from some online retail store.

In the few seconds that they needed to walk across the room to her and Stallis’ table, Selena felt an old grip in her chest… like a painful Deja-Vu. The three suddenly looked like Gavin Scythe and his goons. And it was her Uncle Liam’s bar and- She suddenly gave a shake of her head just in time to hear Stallis ask what was wrong, the men reaching her and speaking before she could give an answer.

“Excuse me.” Said the bald one.

“Yes?” Stallis asked innocently. “Can we help you?”
“Yeah.” The man narrowed his eyes at the two of them. “Got a question for you. Bout who you are.”

Selena sighed. She should have known this would happen, even with her hood covering the majority of her face. Despite her fading popularity/celebrity status, she was STILL in Manhattan, the city where, only until this year, she had been heralded as some kind of celebrity, even getting a key to the city after her record-making world title reign. She was still in her home, where her popularity would still exist in some form. With a long sigh, she reached up and pulled her hood off from her head.

“Yes, I am.” She answered simply. “But I’m not really looking to speak with fans right now. My friend and I are just trying to enjoy a quiet evening.”

The bald man looked at her with a look of… confusion? “You a celebrity… or a porn-star or something?”

“A porn-star?!” Selena asked, a laugh of shock and even amusement, filling her. “With this body?” She asked. “Gods!” she laughed again. “Can you imagine?”

However, upon revealing her hair, the man with the trucker hat snapped his fingers. “Hey! You’re Selena Frost!” he said immediately.
“Yeah.” Selena sighed, almost in relief that someone had gotten it right. “And like I said-“\
“Fuck you!”

Selena’s eyes widened and she was stunned into silence for a moment before another laugh escaped her. “See? That’s more what I’m used to. Basically THAT, Stallis.”

In response, the dirty-blonde scoffed. “I think it’s rude.”

“Nah!” The trucker-hat wearer remarked. “What rude is not showing up to a show you’re called for! My two daughters are huge fans! Like huge! Posters and everything in their rooms! When they said you’d be coming back for Fatal Fortunes, I took them to Calgary to see it! You didn’t even show up!”

“I’m sorry.” Selena remarked, in slight surprise. “But SCW made a mistake. I’m retired. I have been for months. I’m sorry your daughters were disappointed, but that was SCW’s fault. Not mine.”

“Tell that to the thousand dollars I spent and the 30+ hours I had to spend listening to them crying about why their ‘queen’ wasn’t there.” The man spat.

“Again, I’m sorry…” Selena tried. “But I can’t control what SCW does with that. If you call their head office, maybe they can issue refunds, but… I don’t know.”

“Alright, everyone shut up!” the bald man remarked, regaining the attention of the crowd. “This not about some dumb ass travel or kids crying or whatever! This is about her!” he pointed a thick finger, not at Selena, but the other side of the table.

“Stallis?” Selena asked, seeing the woman’s equally shocked expression.

“What about me?” Stallis asked innocently. “I’m not a celebrity like Selena.”
“Nah, you’re not.” The man shook his head. “You’re not even a real woman, are ya?”

Stallis’ eyes went wide, as did Selena’s. “Excuse me?” Selena asked in disbelief. “Who the fuck do you think you are coming here and asking that?!”

“A concerned individual.” The man answered casually. “We’ve got a rule here against people like this one.” He pointed another damn finger at Stallis.

“What rule?” Selena asked, pushing herself out of her seat to stand and moving to stand between Stallis and that damn finger.

“A good one.” Came the simple response as the leader crossed his arms over his chest.
“Pfft… obviously not if you can’t even say it.” Selena countered. “And is this your bar and grill?” she asked.

No answer came, causing Selena to laugh. “Uh-huh. Can’t say what the rule is and doesn’t even own the place he’s trying to impose said rule.” She looked around. “Where’s the manager? Let’s hear his ‘rule’ about this.”

She felt a hand shoot out and grab her shoulder, gripping it hard enough to make her wince. “Selena!” Stallis called out, pushing herself up out of the booth. “Let her go!” She pleaded.

The man, however, kept his grip on Selena’s shoulder. “Take your trannie friend and get the fuck out.” He commanded in a whispered order. “This place isn’t for people like him.”

He gave Selena a shove, sending the Snow Queen towards her table, the former wrestler able to catch herself on the wooden surface. She felt it again… that anger and rage bubbling inside her. Just like the night she had stood there, defeated from Rise to Greatness, and hearing everyone boo her despite her best efforts. The day she had walked out on SCW… she had hated them all.

Kandis.
CHBK.
More than anyone else: the fans. The people that hated her for no reason other than who she was.

Like this man was hating her friend, Stallis, one of the kindest people – second only to Deanna. Stealing a glance upward, Selena saw the young girl reaching out to touch the closest arm of Selena, her once sparkling eyes holding now holding unshed tears.

“Can I…” Selena choked out. “I need to finish my drink.” She whispered, slowly pushing herself up a little. Tentatively, she reached her hand out to wrap her pale fingers around the handle of her mug. “You know…it’s a funny rule you have against transgender people…” she spoke slowly, lifting herself up to her feet. “I can’t imagine what you’d do towards gays and lesbians…” she lifted her head, seeing the smug smirk on the grin of the bald man’s face. “But then again, I can certainly imagine what a lesbian would do to you.”

The next part happened faster than a blink and it wouldn’t be till it was over that Selena would see it all in her mind. In a split millisecond, her hand, holding the mug of beer was flying and crashing, side-first into the man’s face! Immediately, the glass shattered, smattering shards and beer all over him. He had barely let out a cry before Selena was on him, pushing off the table to launch herself at the man. The two went falling backwards, but Selena stayed on, using the fall to throw her hand back and immediately, as they hit the floor, began landing her fist into the man’s face, the blood just now starting to flow out of the cuts formed.

She didn’t care if she got one punch in, or two, or a hundred in those precious seconds of shock from everyone else around her! She didn’t care about the consequences of what she was doing! She just wanted this man to pay!

Pay for his unwarranted hatred towards his friend.
Pay for trying to force them out of a place they had every right to stay in.
Pay for hurting Stallis!
Pay for his bigotry!
Pay for his prejudice!
Pay…Pay…Pay… Pay…

Pay…pay…pay…pay…

The voice, not Selena’s, echoed in her mind driving to keep attacking as long as she could, which wasn’t long until she felt two pairs of hands rip her off the fallen man, pulling her back further and further into the room. Only then did her eyes refocus and she was able to see around her fully. See the crowd that was looking at her. See the men holding her back but also holding her target back. The bald man’s face was covered in blood, to the point where exhaling through his nose would cause a fresh stream of blood to flow out of the nostril - probably a broken nose.

“YOU!” the bellow came from a tall, broad man with a shirt that had the “West End Bar and Grill” written on it. “Out! Now!” he shouted at Selena. “You’re not welcome back here!”

“HE HARASSED US!” Selena shouted back. “Him and his lackies!”
“I don’t care!” the man shouted. “I saw you attack him! Get the fuck out before I call the cops!”
“Hey! I-“ the bald man tried before a glare from the broad man silenced him.
“Shut the fuck up, James!” he ordered. “You’re lucky I don’t ban you too!”

Selena’s eyes widened, the pieces locking together. The manager was sparing them any further trouble by not involving the cops… but he knew this guy – this James – and was only punishing the instigator and bigot with a slap on the wrist while banning her and- Stallis… – quickly, Selena’s eyes scanned the room to find her friend standing beside her, the woman being one of the people pulling her back and towards the exit.

This isn’t right! This isn’t fair! Her mind screamed as she felt Stallis gently pulling her towards the doors. But when they reached them, however, the Snow Queen spied her right hand, gazing down at it to see the blood there – not her blood but the bald man’s. Feeling her jaw clench again, and that rage building in her, she suddenly threw her head back towards the interior of the establishment.

“SUCK IT!” she screamed as loud as she could before opening the door and slamming it shut behind her.

Outside in the cold air, she actually shivered a little, reaching up to pull her hoodie over her head. Immediately, she felt something wrap around her, seeing Stallis wrap Selena’s own coat around the Snow Queen’s frame. “Thanks…” Selena whispered. “I’m…” she stole a glance back at the building. “I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t be…” Stallis smiled sadly, reaching out to wrap her arms around Selena’s frame. “This is just… how things are for people like us.”

“Why?” Selena felt herself ask, her voice suddenly shaking as the adrenaline was depleted, leaving her empty, exhausted… and hurt. “Why does it have to be this way?”

“I don’t know.” Stallis shrugged, her thin frame shuddering with quiet sobs as well. “But maybe it will change some day. For the better… where people like us can be happy.”

“Not…not…” Selena tried but her voice failed her, the platinum-blonde too exhausted to say what she was thinking. Still, as Stallis took guided them back to their vehicles, the thought stayed with Selena far longer than she cared to admit…

Not if I keep hiding from it…

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

Frost ‘Forever House’
Manhattan, New York
December 15th, 2023
9:33pm

”You’re already changing… You just haven’t realized it yet…”

Selena’s eyes remained fixed on the back of her hand. The same hand that had been smeared with blood of that bigot. She could almost see it in her mind’s eye. Almost recall the redness of it, how sticky it became in the cold as she walked to her car that night. How sticky it was when she got home and tried to wash it out. She remembered every emotion of that night: The anger at the unfairness, the protective nature she had for Stallis, the adrenaline to attack viciously… she remembered it all.

Yet, the one emotion she could not recall having for a second surprised it. It was one that, even six months ago, she would have felt regardless of the situation. Guilt. Shame. Embarrassment for acting so viciously, even if…

But she didn’t feel that way that night or even now. Not even an ounce. “Fucking bigot.” She hissed under her breath. “Threatening Stallis… he…” she turned her hand over. “He deserved it.”

Yes, he did… came the confident, proud voice in front of Selena, the young woman, standing in her trophy room, lifting her head to where her stepmother had disappeared, the black-suited man smiling proudly at her. “And you gave it to him, didn’t you?”

“Malcolm…” Selena breathed, gazing into the eyes of her greatest enemy… the greatest evil she had ever known. Malcom Scythe…

“Hello, my dear.” Came the accented, deep voice of the former mayor of Nome. “You’re almost there.”

“Almost there for what?” Selena asked, standing amidst the room of trophies and memories.

“Embracing the truth.” He replied. “That none of this – the people of SCW, the hatred… none of it has ever been your fault.”

The man was a far cry from the last time Selena had seen him: dead on a slab, poisoned by his own creation in Killjoy. No, this was Malcolm in his prime. The mayor of Nome, but also the hunter and master manipulator. The strategist. The man that had taught Selena so much in her youth…

“You know, don’t you?” he asked, keeping his eyes locked on Selena. “The only person that has been holding you back… has been you.”
“Me?”
He nodded. “All this time… you’ve kept blaming yourself for their hatred of you. You kept trying to excuse it or dismiss it. Or walk away from it. You never once truly blamed them for it. You never once held them accountable for it. It was all on your shoulders. Your war for integrity. And rather than let go… you held on to trying to convince them. To try and give them time to see the light…. But…” he breathed. “They are no different than that idiot that harassed you and Stallis, are they?”

“No, they-“

“They’re hatred is unfounded. Unfair. Based solely on your identity. Nothing more. No evil act. No evil word.”

Selena opened her mouth to speak. For so long, nobody could identify the reason behind the SCW Universe’s hatred of Selena (according to Deanna). It was a mystery, made no sense to the staff of SCW… but Malcolm was not so placid or caring whether his deductions hurt others. The truth was the truth in his eyes – always had been.

“They’re scum, Selena.” He stated simply and darkly. “Racists, sexists, partisans, all as worthless and pathetic as that man in the bar… and you know it.”

Unable to continue looking at him, Selena turned away, her gaze falling on a photo of her on the wall: Her holding up the world championship at End of the Year 2016, one of the greatest moments of her life. Her third-year anniversary. ‘The Year of Selena Frost’ – when she had believed so much in this business and its people – believed in SCW even when she hadn’t been able to believe in herself as a possible world champion.

“Let go of them.” She heard Malcolm implore. “Give them what they deserve…” he paused but was then suddenly, it was as if he was right behind her, whispering in her ear. “Your wrath.”

Again, Selena’s eyes fell down to her hand. It had felt so good to attack that man. To take his hatred and shove it back at him. To destroy him like he was nothing. Because he WAS nothing! What did he matter compared to herself and Stallis? Nothing.

And those people in SCW? Using her name? Promoting her with no clue? What did they matter compared to Selena and her wife? Nothing!

And the SCW Universe? Booing her? Wishing her gone from SCW? What did they matter compared to her work? Her integrity? The life she had earned through blood and tears and injuries?

“Nothing…” she whispered, looking up to see her own reflection in the glass picture… and the cruel smile that formed on it. “So who cares if they hate me? Who cares if they want me gone? What the hell can they do to stop me?”

Slowly, the Snow Queen pulled herself up, standing tall and gazing around the room. “Nothing…” she whispered, alone once more in her house. And yet…. It was different.

Everything now seemed to make sense. She felt the pieces of a plan forming in her brain. A way to get back to SCW, not just walk back in, oh no! That wasn’t good enough for what THEY had put her through. What they had caused in her own family.

SCW. The fans. CHBK.

No… simply walking in wouldn’t be good enough by a longshot! They needed to be exposed. They needed to be humiliated. They needed to pay… pay… pay…

Again, Selena’s eyes fell on the photo of herself. Her ‘anniversary event’…

Yes… it would be perfect… but she… slowly, Selena looked around the room again. The truth had not disappeared just because things finally made sense to her. No, the truth was still as strong as ever. And what she was becoming… what she was now thanks to Malcolm and Anastasia and the SCW Universe… she could not be and still be Deanna’s wife.

With a sigh, the Snow Queen got to work, spending the next three hours moving everything out of the trophy room, out of her bedroom, and out of her closet and stuffing them into the Jeep Liberty. By the time she was finished, midnight had come and gone but she was not tired. Rather, she did one last check of the rooms before she headed for the door, dressed now in a black suit like Malcolm had worn. It fit her well, she noticed. And yet, as her hand reached for the door…

She stopped, turning her head back to her home – her ‘Forever Home’ – feeling the ache in her chest at the decision she had made… perhaps was destined to always make…

With one last tear falling down her cheek, Selena walked over to the stationary table, grabbing an envelope and letter and writing a single sentence on the paper.

I’m sorry, Deanna… I can’t do this anymore.

Carefully, she folded up the letter and placed in the envelope, taking one last journey to her bedroom – THEIR bedroom – and placing it on the mattress.

Alone in the room, the Blue-Eyed Devil stared down at the letter.

“Are you happy now, Selena?” she heard herself ask to the empty room. Not yet… she thought to herself before turning away.

But very soon… I will be.

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

The Royal Letter

So, I imagine this is the part where I talk about the past, right? This is where I go on about my accolades. Being the last ‘great champion’ to hold the title, right? Breaking the ‘unbreakable’ in world championship reign-length, right? This is where I go on and on and on about ‘integrity’ right? That’s what everyone THINKS I’m going to talk about, right? Sure as hell seems to be what Asher Hayes thinks I’m going to talk about.

But if my actions over the last few weeks and my words from my last promo is any indication… it’s that first of all, Asher doesn’t know a damn thing about me. Second, Asher doesn’t have what it takes to push my buttons or pull my strings, and lastly, it’s that I don’t do things just because YOU people want them anymore. I don’t do things just because you people THINK I’m going to do them anymore.

No… no… no… I do things when I want to do them. I say what I want to say. I do what I want to do. And if you got a problem with that, well, feel free to interrupt me like Religious Wright did! See what happens! I dare you!

Besides, why the hell would I waste my time telling you all the truth? Why would I? All along, you people have proven that you don’t like the truth. You don’t want the truth. You can’t handle the truth. No! You rather lie to yourselves and dream about banging a slut like Kandis. Or that you’re chums with Kimberly Williams or that, even though you’re a selfish asshole, you can be worth a damn like Asher Hayes thinks he is, right? So why, with your heads so full of such delusions, why would I waste my time telling you the facts about me? So, I’ll spare me the effort and you the embarrassment of exposing your bias, shameful, prejudiced hate and instead, I’ll focus on what I am here to do.

So, Asher… how’s YOUR week been going?

I mean, did you take my request to heart? Did you go for that walk? Did you think about your words before opening your mouth? Did you consider what is happening in the next few days? Cause that’s all the time that you have left. A few days until Body, Heart and Soul. A few days until I walk in and, in my return match, I beat you to the ground and take the world championship from you.

And really… when you think about it, you got to appreciate the imagery of that, Asher! I mean, come on! First shot you got, remember? Apocalypse? You threw it away and stole the world championship from Kandis. You couldn’t beat her. You couldn’t pin her. Hell, you couldn’t make her submit. And by the way, for someone who thinks I don’t deserve this shot, pretty funny when you didn’t earn your second shot, right?

But that just makes this whole thing so poetic. For someone else to come in now that YOU’RE the world champion, steal your Kismet and walk away with it – albeit by actually defeating you rather than disqualifying themselves – that’s just gotta be the prettiest picture I can think of! We come full circle, don’t we? I get back the world title and you watch someone walk away with the title that ‘no one was EVAH gonna take from you’!

It is! It’s downright beautiful! Because I thought it was beautiful when you did it to Kandis! There she was, most arrogant bitch in the world because of one win, and you embarrassed her just like that. And now, rather than learn from that, here you are, being just as arrogant, just as stupid, that you don’t see that you’re going down the same path.

Oh but! But this is different, right? Asher is on a ‘whole ‘nother level’ than anyone right?! Asher isn’t in the same league as Selena Frost, right?

You know what, Asher? You’re right. You and I? We aren’t in the same league. We aren’t on the same level. Because I didn’t need over a decade to get to the top of SCW! I didn’t need a decade to beat everyone there is to beat, including you! I didn’t need a decade to prove that I am the greatest world champion of all time!

You know what I needed? One chance.

That’s all I needed. One chance in 2016 and I took that chance and I ran with it! I ran with it and I made a legacy out of it. And now? Ten years since my debut? You’re right, you and I can’t be compared. Know why? Cause in the time it’s taken you to win that title once, I’ll have won it SIX times!

Six times! Let that percolate in your brain, Asher! Six times of being looked down on and shutting that person up! Six times being told “I’m not good enough” and shutting them up! Six times of being told “it isn’t going to happen” and shutting them up!

That’s what’s in store for you, Asher, in just a few days. Not being ‘the only one’. Oh no no no no! You’re not the only one for the SCW championship! You’re the SIXTH one – as in the sixth time I’ve destroyed someone to become the NEW SCW World Champion!

Because you just don’t get it, do you, Asher? You want to look down on me, right? You want to look down on me, want to doubt me, say I’ve got no chance?

It’s cute.

But I’ll tell you the difference here. You look down on Kandis – a one time world champion? Look down on Autumn? Never won the title? Look down on Deanna? Two years in? Sharper and Knots would call that ‘arrogant’. ‘Underestimating your opponent’. Something like that.

You look down on me – you try and diminish me? You know what they would call that?

A mistake! A STUPID mistake!

Because all I’ve done is take from you, Asher. Right? Think about it! I took your stable, The Brand, from you and lead it on the path of destruction. I took your Co-World Championship status from you, remember? I took your ‘best friend’s’ and ‘meal-ticket’… I took his motivation – his reason for coming back to SCW – twice over and thus all your potential. I took and I took and I reduced you to, even now at your supposed ‘best’, you’re still just a Co… A Co-Male Wrestler of the Year, right? And then I came back and took your BS about being ‘untouchable’ and destroyed it with a single kick.

Oh yeah, you saw it coming right? You’re ‘that good’, right? Saw right through me, didn’t ya? So, why didn’t you stop it? Why didn’t you stop me from knocking your ass out with one single kick?

Because you couldn’t, Asher. You couldn’t stop it – couldn’t stop me – anymore than you could a year ago. Two years ago.

And that’s the difference, Asher. You’ve fought new champs and rookies. But someone like me? The Face of SCW? The Blue-Eyed Devil? Hehehe… You’ve never faced someone like me with the stakes this high before. You’ve never fought someone of MY level with the world title on the line. Someone that knows a world title match inside and out. Someone that has fought better liars and cheaters than you. Or do I need to talk about Holly Adams or Cid Turner again?

That’s what I asked you to realize. See, Asher, you want to talk about being ‘needed’ by SCW. Being the ‘most powerful’ of SCW. Being ‘The man at the top of the mountain’?

The truth is that you don’t really understand the first thing of any of that! Was it you, as world champion, that SCW promoted during Fatal Fortunes? Was it you that got their own commercial for it? You get mentioned when you’re there – on the show, that’s easy. I get mentioned and advertised and promoted even when I’m not there! Four months I was gone and not a show or a pay-per-view went by without someone talking about me. Without someone asking about me… even you! Hell, they fabricated a whole story about a video promotion and a ’staff member’s mistake’ because in reality? SCW NEEDED me back! SCW NEEDED it’s ‘Face’!

Not you… me.

Because I am the one that makes the ticket sales! I’m the one that puts the butts in the seats! I’m the one that carries this place on my shoulders and without me?! There isn’t a single person that can measure up! You know it! Simon knows it! Kandis knows it! CHBK knows it! Every board member in SCW knows it and those people in the SCW Universe, hate me all they want, they know it! Without me, there is NO star power in this company. There is no ‘superstar’ level. There is no ‘Supreme’ in SCW. Just you playing ‘championship wrestling’ and barely getting by with tights-pulling.

Am I wrong? Then why, when I demand a world title shot, do they just GIVE it to me after one match? Just to get me back in SCW. THAT is need, Asher. That is what it feels like to have SCW NEED you. You? Nobody’s going to care about what you want after this weekend! Cause all that makes you relevant will be gone!

Heh… “Man at the top of the mountain”… Asher, you don’t get it! I AM THE DAMN MOUNTAIN! I am the standard! I am the level that nobody can stay at! Ask Kandis! Ask Simon! Hell, get your answer when we’re done! Ten years, I’ve held this place up! Ten years, I represented a level that a few could maybe reach but NOBODY could stay at! And you think you’ve reached that same level because what? You’ve beaten some “Selena Frost-wannabees”, and yes, I include my wife when I say that!

You want to talk about levels, Hayes? Your little hill that you stand at the top of is eclipsed in the shadow of the mountain that I am, Asher! Everything that you do, I’ve done it and I’ve done it better! Every accolade you hold? I’ve held it more, longer and better! Every trick you can pull? I can do it better. Every strategy you can conceive? I can counter and do it better. Shoot, I can even beat up Religious Wright better than you can! Hell, I’m even better at being despised by these people than you are!

‘No chance’, you said? Asher, you’re the one with no chance. You’re the one that’s got no more tricks to play. You’re the one that’s got no more fresh lines, clearly, to say. See, you’re gonna need something along the lines of a damn miracle to put me down. Me? All I’m going to need is the same thing I needed just a few weeks ago.

Once chance… one kick.

At Body, Heart and Soul, Asher, you’re going to wish that I DID stay home. That I DID stay away. Because I am going to embarrass you. I am going to humiliate the ‘untouchable’. I am going to humble the supposed ‘best’ and show you the true difference in our ‘levels’. I am going to break you of YOUR beliefs, Asher! All your beliefs that you don’t deserve to carry, deserve to speak. I am going to shatter the arrogant and expose you like I have all the SCW Universe! And those fans you high-fived? They’re the reason you’ll no longer be the world champion!

Time’s up, little boy. Time for you to stop pretending to be the best and time for the real thing to step in… for the mountain to stand alone once more. And whether you see it coming or not… there won’t be a damn thing you can do to stop it!

Believe it… or not!