Dawn Lohan vs. Deanna Frost

[QueensGuardSCW]

Frost No More

”The Person They Don’t See...”

The Frost Forever Home
Manhattan, New York
June 27th, 2026
3:23 PM

The house was quiet – and not the comfortable kind of quiet. Not the peaceful silence that came after three children had gone out with friends. The silence that filled the Frost home lingered – like an uninvited guest that didn’t know it was time to leave.

Deanna Frost sat alone in the family room, one hand wrapped around a mug of tea that had long since gone cold within her hands. The television was off and her phone rested face down on the coffee table.

She hadn't touched it in over an hour. She knew there wouldn't be anything there...

No missed calls.
No messages.
No impossible text from the woman who had once texted her every morning without fail simply to say, “Good morning, pet. Maybe I love you...”

Selena was gone... Again.

It stung less than it had following Hubris... less than it had following the revelation of her betrayal. In fact, if Deanna were honest with herself, it had almost become predictable. Whenever something inside the platinum-blonde fractured - whenever the mask slipped and the Blue-Eyed Devil no longer knew what to do with herself – she disappeared.

Usually to Nome. Deanna thought, closing her eyes.

It wasn’t hard to figure out the Snow Queen’s mentality, either. She always disappeared believing she deserved to be alone. Believing isolation was punishment. Believing love was something she had forfeited.

Last time Deanna had ignored that, crossing thousands of miles because every instinct she possessed screamed that if she didn't, there might not be another chance.

She remembered stepping onto the frozen Alaskan soil and searching dank, dark mine of Selena’s father - wondering whether she would even find Selena alive. She had failed to really find her, only seeing her ex-wife/lover in the midst of the royale...

But it had been enough... Because she knew.

I'll see her again.

The certainty wasn't logical. Most people would have called it foolish or blind or naïve. Exactly what everyone had accused her of being for months... Maybe years. Deanna had accepted that.

If believing in Selena made her naïve... Then she would simply be naïve. She settled on that thought as she tasted her tea – a bitter taste ran over her tongue, forcing her to set the mug down.

Across the room, family photographs decorated the mantle: Vacations, birthdays, anniversaries, wrestling moments. She smiled despite herself. She had insisted on taking too many pictures throughout her marriage to the former world champion.

"Years from now..." she'd laughed. "when we're old and arguing over whose turn it is to cook dinner, I want proof we were happy." Deanna had teased.

"We'll still be happy." Selena had assured her.
"Exactly."

Neither of them had imagined happiness could become something they had to fight for... Or remember as something they once had.

Her eyes settled on another photograph: Elsianna.

Nine years old. Standing proudly between her two mothers with missing front teeth and a grin too big for her face.

She had worshipped Selena - not in the unhealthy way fans idolized heroes. Children simply believed. If Selena said the stars looked brighter tonight, Elsianna would run outside to check. If Selena promised she'd always catch her, she would jump without hesitation.

That trust had been beautiful... Until it wasn't.

Deanna sighed at the reality. The Blue-Eyed Devil hadn't merely hurt Deanna. She had shattered that child's understanding of who her mother was.

Deanna understood why which somehow made it hurt even more. The relationship had deteriorated and deteriorated until there was so little left for the young girl to believe... growing up far too fast for Deanna (or Selena) to like. The scars on Elsianna’s arms, coming out, losing the image she held of Selena – no child deserved to endure such hardships one after the other.

A floorboard creaked upstairs. Then another. Deanna looked toward the staircase just as footsteps descended.

As if thinking about her at manifested the young girl, Elsianna appeared, dressed casually, her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. She wasn't the little girl from the photograph anymore.

She noticed the untouched tea immediately. "You've been sitting there the whole time?"
Deanna smiled faintly. "I've moved..." she shrugged. “A little...”
"Three feet?" Elsianna raised an eyebrow.
"...Maybe."

The young girl walked into the room before sitting in the chair opposite her mother. For a moment neither of them spoke for several moments – though it wasn’t as awkward as it could have been.

Finally... "She left." Elsianna remarked.
"No." Deanna answered simply, causing her daughter to frown.
"No?"
"She disappeared." the redhead corrected.
Elsianna sighed. "That's leaving, Mom."
"No it isn’t." Deanna's answer came gently.
"It's running."

There was a difference and Deanna picked up on it immediately: One implied abandonment. The other implied fear. Only one described Selena.

Elsianna studied her mother. "You're defending her already."
"I'm explaining her."
"After what happened?"

Deanna didn't answer that. She had heard similar arguments from every friend, critic, fan, and family member for weeks.

Her daughter leaned forward."She lied to you."
"I know."
"She manipulated you."
"I know."
"She spent months convincing everyone you gave her the shot."
"I know."
"And you're still..." Elsianna couldn't quite finish. "...doing this?!"

Deanna looked out the window at the sunlight that filtered through the trees surrounding the property.

Summer. A season Deanna always loved. How many times had she dragged everyone outside for picnics? For water wars? For barbecues? There had been one Fourth of July where she'd accidentally launched a firework sideways!

David still jokes about it. The memory surfaced so naturally that Deanna laughed under her breath.

"What?" Elsianna asked.
"I was remembering almost setting the neighbour's hedge on fire."
Elsianna blinked. "That's what you're thinking about?"
"Part of it."
"Mom..." Elsianna tried, only to be met with strong glance from Deanna.

"The person everyone talks about..." Deanna paused. "...isn't the only Selena I've known."

Silence settled again, the daughter caught off-guard. If only for a moment.

"I know." she finally said, but Deanna intercepted her again, knowing where her eldest child was going.

"No." There wasn't anger in her voice. Only certainty. "You know stories. You know what you’ve seen as you grew up with her."

Elsianna's expression tightened. "Exactly. I’ve grown up with her."
"You grew up with someone already carrying things you couldn't see." Deanna’s stated.

That landed differently for the young girl - Deanna could tell.

She continued quietly. "You remember your mother after wrestling. After championships. After expectations. After years of convincing herself she had to become something impossible. After the fans turned on her because she had an opinion."

"I remember before." The room seemed smaller, perhaps because Elsianna’s voice was just above a whisper. "I remember the woman who cried she got so frustrated that she couldn’t fix Amiliah’s favorite toy." she almost smiled. "I remember someone who admitted to a speeding ticket for going one mile above the speed limit." That earned an involuntary laugh from Deanna. "I remember someone who refused to let me drive during snowstorms because she thought everyone else on the road deserved to make it home too."

The laughter faded slowly from Elsianna’s voice. "I remember someone whose first instinct was always kindness." She looked back up at her mother. "I still remember her. But not like you do.” she admitted. "I remember pieces. The rest..." she shook her head. “I remember somebody who kept choosing a title over us... over you."

Deanna inhaled slowly. "She didn't."
Elsianna stared. "What?"
"She chose responsibility."
"What responsibility?"
"The wrong kind." Deanna folded her hands together. "Your mother convinced herself she had to carry everyone's expectations."
“Who’s?” Elsianna asked.
"The company, the fans, the championship, the legacy. Every time she fell short...she couldn’t blame herself. She had to find another way – another solution. And when she was held back, it just added and added, making her more desperate. Fighting a system that worked against her at every turn..."

Elsianna frowned. "So?"

"So eventually..." Deanna sighed "...she forgot she was allowed to simply be Selena." The words came softly. "And when someone forgets who they are long enough, they...” she tried to find the right words, “...they start becoming whoever they think everyone wants."

The Blue-Eyed Devil. The villain not born overnight... but built. Brick by brick. Expectation by expectation. Mistake by mistake. Regret by regret.

And nobody wanted to admit their part in it. Not Selena, not the fans, not the wrestlers, not CHBK with his well-meaning but blatant bias. Not Frank Delatosso with his bias – entirely not well-meaning... Nobody wanted to admit their part in it – they just wanted to blame it all on Selena and call her ‘evil’ and ‘wicked’ and ‘never good’.

Elsianna was quiet for only a moment. "So you're saying none of this is her fault?"

Deanna looked directly at her daughter. "No." her answer was stern and the hurt was there just beneath the surface. "Some of it absolutely is. Your mother has made terrible choices." the redhead explained. “She's hurt people... hurt me. She has to answer for those choices."

"So why?" Elsianna asked, more confused than anything else. "Why are you giving her another chance?"

Deanna looked toward the wedding photograph still hanging in the hallway. White dress.... a tiara of vines... sapphire eyes...

Most divorced couples would have taken it down. Neither of them ever had. Perhaps neither had wanted to admit forever had become uncertain.

Deanna’s voice barely rose above a whisper. "Because she earned it."
"Earned it?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"She admitted she was wrong... in her way."
"That's enough?"
"No." Deanna smiled sadly. "But it's where healing starts."

Her daughter shook her head. "I don't understand."
"I know."
"You keep saying she's still in there."
"Yes."
"But what if she isn't?"

The question echoed through the room. It was enough to make Deanna pause, because that question haunted her too.

What if everyone else was right? What if she had spent years believing in a ghost?

Her eyes closed. Then...

She remembered Taking Hold of the Flame. She remembered the moment. The one almost nobody else seemed to understand.

For one heartbeat, the Devil had vanished. There had simply been Selena. Looking at her. Not an opponent. Not an obstacle. Not weakness. Just... Deanna.

The woman she'd promised forever to. Deanna had seen as Selena had saved her from possible elimination. That wasn't imagination. It wasn't wishful thinking. It had happened. Only for seconds.

But seconds were enough! Enough to remind Deanna that the woman she'd married was still fighting from somewhere deep inside.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. "I know why nobody believes me. And I don't blame them."
"And yet you still do."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Deanna's answer came almost immediately. "Because somebody has to."

The answer lingered between them. Elsianna looked at her mother as though she had spoken in another language.

For years, Deanna had been the easiest person in the world to understand. She was kind because kindness came naturally. She forgave because she believed people deserved the chance to become better than their worst day. Even those that kept seeing her as ‘the weaker Frost’ and ‘Selena’s shadow’.

This... this felt different. This wasn't kindness. This was conviction.

"Mom..." Deanna met her daughter’s eyes. "You know everyone thinks you're wrong."
"I do."
"They think she's manipulating you."
"I know."
"They think she always has."
"I know."
"They think..." Elsianna hesitated. "...they think you see someone that doesn't exist anymore."

Deanna smiled sadly. "They're allowed to."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"No." Deanna shook her head. “It doesn’t.”
"Not even a little?"

The redhead glanced down at her wedding ring - she still wore it. Not because she denied the divorce, but because she had never stopped believing the promise behind it.

"I spent a long time wishing everyone would understand." She laughed softly. "Then I realized... they weren't there." she continued. "They didn't see the little moments. They didn't see the moments in-between SCW. They didn't see your mother when nobody was watching."

Elsianna frowned. "I did."
"You saw your mother." Deanna nodded. "I saw Selena."

"Everyone just remembers the championships, the mistakes..." her breath caught a little. "The Blue-Eyed Devil." she sighed. "I remember someone dancing barefoot in this kitchen because one of her favourite songs came on." A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I remember someone who insisted Yuletide traditions be honoured."

Elsianna rolled her eyes despite herself. "She always won that argument."
"She absolutely did." Deanna chuckled a little. "I remember someone who stayed awake all night because David had a fever. I remember someone who cried harder than Amiliah did on her first day of school."

She eyes her daughter gently. "Those things don't disappear."

Elsianna looked unconvinced. "They can."
"No." Deanna shook her head. "They change. They get buried. They get twisted, but they don't disappear. Not unless we stop looking."

Her daughter folded her arms. "How long?"
"Hm?"
"How long do you keep looking?"

The question caught Deanna off guard, but Elsianna continued. "What if this takes another year? Five years? Ten? At what point do you decide enough is enough?"

Deanna didn't answer immediately. She deserved an honest answer. "I... I don't know."

Elsianna blinked. "You don't know?"

"No. I honestly don't. I've asked myself that question every night." Deanna’s fingers tightened around the cooling mug. "I wish I had a number. I wish I could tell you there's a point where I simply stop loving her." A tear formed before she noticed it. "I've tried."

She laughed once. A broken, almost embarrassed sound. "God... I've tried so hard. I've tried being angry. I've tried hating her. I've tried convincing myself everyone else was right." Her voice cracked. "I've tried imagining a life where I just... moved on." She wiped at her eyes. "But I can't."

Elsianna watched silently.

"I still wake up wondering if she's slept. I still wonder whether she's eating. I still wonder whether she's remembered to take a jacket. I know exactly where she goes when she wants to disappear..."

"Then why aren't you going?" Elsianna asked.
Deanna could only sigh. "I did... before the royale..."
“Why didn’t you bring her back?”
"I think..." Deanna searched for the words. "It’s not that simple. I think she needs to choose."
"Choose what?"
"To come home."

Not to Manhattan.
Not to the house.
Home.
To herself.
To us....
To the life she'd convinced herself she no longer deserved.

"I can't make that decision for her." Deanna admitted. “I already tried once."
"And?"
"I found her. But I couldn't heal her."

There was a brief silence, before Elsianna spoke. "I don't know if I could forgive her."
"I know."
"I don't know if I even want to."
"I know."
"I don't think she's earned that."
"I know."
"Then why do you keep saying she has earned another chance?"

Deanna took a slow breath. "Because those aren't the same thing."
Elsianna frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Forgiveness..." She considered it. "...is a gift. Trust is earned."
"And another chance?"
Deanna smiled faintly. "That's hope."

Hope... Such a fragile word.

"You know what happened at Taking Hold of the Flame?"
Elsianna nodded. "I watched."
"No." Deanna shook her head gently. "You watched the match. I watched your mother."

She remembered it vividly: The roar of the crowd. The uncertainty. The exhaustion written across Selena's face. "I looked into her eyes."

"And?"

"For just a moment...she looked back." Deanna smiled. “Not the Devil. Not the Champion. Not the legend. Selena. Scared... Confused... Heartbroken... and then... relieved and proud...” The woman I married. "I saw her." She turned her attention to Elsianna. "If I imagined that... why did she stop?"

The question lingered.

"Why didn't she finish what everyone expected? Why not take the shot as I offered it? Why hesitate? Why walk away? Why tell me..." Deanna stopped herself. Selena's words echoed in her mind.

"It should be you." Those words... Not shouted. Not mocked. Almost... regretful. As though Selena truly believed them.

Elsianna noticed. "What?"
Deanna smiled sadly. "Nothing."
"No. You remembered something."

She had. She remembered hearing words she hadn't allowed herself to fully process. Words that refused to leave her alone.

Elsianna studied her. "I saw the segment. She told you it should be you." Deanna looked up sharply. "I didn't understand it." her daughter admitted. I still don't."

The redhead nodded. She didn’t understand it either - not completely.

Had Selena been mocking her?
Trying to hurt her?
Or... Had she truly believed it?

For years Selena had fought to remain at the top. Every championship mattered. Every accolade mattered. Every expectation rested on her shoulders – as if she alone could fix SCW from the heights it had fallen from.

So why? Why would she tell Deanna that she should be the one standing there? At the main-event of Rise to Greatness? The thought unsettled her. Not because she wanted the championship.

Because she knew Selena. Or at least... she used to.

"Mom?"

Deanna slowly shook herself from the memory. "I never wanted that."
"The World Championship?"
"No."

Elsianna looked genuinely confused. "You've wrestled for years."
"I know."
"You've won championships."
"I know."
"So how can you not want the biggest one?"

Deanna smiled. "I never came to SCW for the world championship."
"Then why?"

The answer arrived so naturally that she almost laughed. "For your mother."

Elsianna blinked. "What?"

"I joined SCW because Selena was there. Wrestling was always part of us. But SCW..." She smiled warmly. “SCW was where I got to be beside her. First as her manager... then... as her partner."

Partners.
Best friends.
Wives.
Dreaming together.

"I stayed because I fell in love with this company. I stayed because I loved competing. I stayed because I loved the people. But if you ask me whether becoming World Champion was ever worth losing Selena..."

She didn't hesitate. "The answer is no." The certainty in her voice surprised even herself. "Never. It never has been and it never will be."

Elsianna stared. "But... everyone says—"
"I know what everyone says."
"They think you're settling. They think you're better than this. They think you're too good for her."

Deanna smiled sadly. "They're wrong."
Her daughter frowned. "Mom..."

"I'm not too good for your mother." Deanna pressed.  "I've made mistakes too." She looked toward the family photographs again. "There are things I regret."

"What?" Elsianna asked, prompting a long silence.

"I asked her to come back." Deanna finally admitted. "I pushed. When she wanted to stay away... I..." she sighed. "I believed wrestling would remind her who she was. I thought I was helping. Instead...”

The pressure had returned.
The hatred for Selena had never left.
The impossible standards had never lessened.
One more comeback.
One more title.
One more burden.
That was all that was needed to fix SCW for good!

Until eventually... The Blue-Eyed Devil emerged.

"I keep asking myself..." Deanna sighed, gazing at a photo of her and Selena. "What if I'd let her stay away? What if I'd chosen us instead? What if none of this ever happens?" Tears slipped freely now from her emerald eyes. "I don't know. I honestly don't know... But I live with that every day.”

Elsianna crossed the room without saying anything, sitting beside her mother and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. For several moments, neither spoke.

"I still don't think she deserves you."
Deanna smiled through the tears. "I know."
"I don't."
"I know."
"I don't think I ever will."
"I know."

Another silence, then Elsianna stood. She headed toward the doorway before stopping. Without turning around, she spoke. "I still think it should be you."

Deanna looked up, gazing towards the back of her daughter.

"The World Championship." Elsianna clarified. "You should be the one fighting for it.”Then she walked upstairs, leaving Deanna alone once again.

The house fell quiet - the same silence as before. Yet somehow... different.

Deanna remained seated long after the footsteps disappeared.

"It should be you."

Elsianna's words.
Selena's words.
The same sentence.
Spoken by two different people.
For two entirely different reasons.

Or...Maybe not. Deanna closed her eyes.

Had Selena truly been refusing? Not just the match. Not just the championship. Not just the main-event that had been the Snow Queens for five years. But the life she'd built around believing she had to keep carrying everything.

If she had been refusing... If, for one impossible moment, Selena had looked at Deanna and genuinely believed someone else deserved the burden...

...then perhaps that wasn't surrender. Perhaps it was the first honest thing she'd allowed herself to say in years.

Deanna didn't know. There were too many questions. Too many wounds. Too much uncertainty.

Everyone else would continue believing she was chasing someone who no longer existed. That was all right.

If she had to stand alone... If she had to be the last person still believing... Then she would.

Not because she was blind.
Not because she was weak.
Because she remembered.

She remembered a woman with platinum-blonde hair laughing in this very house. She remembered sapphire blue eyes that once looked at her as though forever was the easiest promise in the world. She remembered falling in love.

And until Selena herself proved beyond all doubt that woman was truly gone...

Deanna would continue believing she was still finding her way home.