12-30-2020, 11:36 PM
OOC: Last roleplay of 2020 for me! WOOOO! Hope everyone enjoys it and all the other rps and has a great New Year’s!
Frankfurt Prison III
December 25th, 2020
Frankfurt, Germany
1:42pm
“Let me see if I get this straight.” The voice drawled on in Selena’s ear through the receiver in her cellphone as she sat on the flight of stairs just outside of the prison lounge where the Christmas party of the Frankfurt Prison III was still taking place. The Warden, upon the Snow Queen explaining the phone-call she had received from the hospital in Oberwesel, had graciously allowed her to use her cellphone to contact the proper family, who currently was not too pleased at all. “You woke me up at…” there was a pause in the weary man’s voice, as if he was checking the nearest clock or display of time. “Damn near four a.m-“
“Yes-“ Selena tried but was interjected immediately.
“Just to tell me that Talia has been in a car accident?”
“Just?” Selena could not believe the, seemingly, unfazed tone she was hearing. “Malcolm, she has three crushed ribs and almost got her lung punctured. Not to mention the bruising and-“
“I appreciate the update.” The mayor of Nome stated dryly. “But I fail to see the need to contact me about it now?”
“Wh-“ Selena stammered in disbelief. “Because she’s your daughter-in-law! You need to contact Ryan and I tell him his wife-“
“Oh I’m sure he’ll be as annoyed as I am that you are disturbing us on Christmas morning. I hate to break it to you, child, but I do have obligations that I’m trying to rest up for.”
“What the hell is the matter with you?” Selena asked incredulously. “Get Ryan, get on a plane, and get your asses over here! She needs her family!”
There was a pause on the other line, during which Selena’s hand flew up to rub at her uncovered temple in aggravation. Though she despised any kind of contact with Malcolm Scythe, she had not hesitated to dial his number into the phone once she had gotten the call about Talia’s hospital residence.
“Suppose I wanted to, Mrs. Frost.” Came the cold, commanding voice of Malcolm Scythe. “Disregarding the fact that Talia is exiled to Germany – and has been for close to two years, of which she has made no progress – All airports in Nome are currently closed for Christmas. Private charters need to be booked in advance and I do not have the desire to call my staff and secure one simply because my disappointment of a step-daughter ran a red light!”
His words stunned the Snow Queen, her mouth hanging open, shaking ever so slightly as she tried to formulate any kind of verbal response to that. It was beyond cruel what the man was saying! Even for someone like Talia!
“Frankly, my dear…” Malcolm prattled on. “I am beginning to doubt my investment in her all these years as being worthwhile. There has to come a time when a man has to cut his losses. I am sure you can understand that rather well.”
“This isn’t about gains and losses, Malcolm.” Selena hissed. “She’s your family. She’s worked her ass off to figure out a way to get Deanna out and to come home.”
“No hard enough, it would seem.”
“Oh, you could do better, Malcolm? Is that what you’re saying?” Selena shot back. “You’re such a big shot in rinky, dink Nome? You can get my wife out of here?!”
“No.” Malcolm replied simply. “And I wouldn’t have promised you I could either. I don’t make promises based on empty lies. That was Talia’s mistake.”
Selena’s lips formed a firm line as she inhaled and exhaled harshly through her nose. There was, indeed, some truth to Malcolm’s words. It had been Talia’s obsession with Selena, her desire for revenge for a childhood mistake, that had caused Talia to gamble everything on only partial information. Make no mistake, the person at fault for Talia being exiled to Frankfurt and Oberwesel was Talia, herself.
“To hell with that, Malcolm.” Selena stated. “This isn’t about her exile. This is about being a decent human being and-“
“Good-bye, Mrs. Frost.” Malcolm replied coldly. “Give my regards to my grandchildren.”
The line went died with sickening soft click. With an angry growl, Selena punched in the number again. “You damned son of a-“ only to be met with an instant “the number you have dialed is currently unreachable” auto-message, which caused another angry yell to come from the woman as she smacked her phone against her closest leg at the knee, her free hand backhand-punching the nearby stone wall, which was cold and hard to the touch.
She simply stayed like that for several minutes, inhaling and exhaling slowly. She had, in her frustration, undone her hair from its braid during the long phone call with Malcolm, allowing her to angrily run her hand through her scalp as she scratched the surface.
Why are there so many people in my life whose soul purpose, it seems, is to piss me of? she asked herself, only for her mind, as if answering itself, to instantly fire back. Way. The Hell. Do You. Care?
That question did seem to catch Selena off for a moment, her eyes lifting a little to stare down the short flight of stairs that she occupied. Why did she care? Talia had been her enemy for nearly twenty damned years! She had made the platinum-blonde’s life a living hell – from their school days in Nome, to aiding Malcolm Scythe in kidnapping Selena’s children, to that whole fiasco in Nome that had been them competing in the revived “Snow Queen Pageant”. Talia had been nothing but trouble and had wasted Selena’s time and given false hope to her and her children into getting Deanna out of prison.
Maybe it was fate? Maybe Talia getting into a car accident was fate, like Selena, having enough of the bullshit from the Scythe family. Maybe-
The Snow Queen stopped that trail of thoughts immediately, not by choice, but because a second thought rammed in front of it, taking up the priority.
Because what? the voice (still hers, but stronger, kinder). Because she hasn’t suffered enough already? She’s trapped here. She has to not only watch you raise children, which she doesn’t have, but also watches as you travel the world – literally!
What followed next – perhaps triggered by her mind’s use of those specific words – was a memory, played out behind Selena’s eyes. There, she saw her and Talia, as children, running around in one of the many snowy fields of Nome, Alaska, throwing snowballs at each other and building snowmen. Laughing and hugging, making snow angels… why was she thinking about this now?
”Hey Selena!” the young girl spoke as she fit the smallest size ball of snow onto the top of the ‘Snowman’ pile they had made.
“What?” Selena saw her younger ‘self’ answer as she patted the surface of the middle ball – the ‘torso of the snowman’.
“You ever think of leaving here?”
“Here?” the young girl asked. “Like…Nome?”
“Sure!” Talia answered! “Like… see the world! I heard-“ she leaned excitedly against the snowman, carefully not to knock it over. “There are some places that are so warm that it NEVER snows there.”
“Never?!” the child’s eyes were wide at that, sapphire eyes in wonder at such an idea. “Where would that be?”
“Don’t know. Cali-“ Talia tried to pronounce the word properly. “Califlower? That’s not it. But my dad said there are several places!”
“No way.” Selena shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”
“Why not?” laughed Talia. “If there are placed that get snow non-stop, like here, can’t there be places that don’t?”
“I guess.” The platinum-blonde child shrugged her shoulders. “But, I… I don’t think I could leave here.” She admitted. “It’s…”
“Scary?” teased her friend, sticking her tongue out playfully.
“N-no!” young-Selena stammered defensively. “It’s just… Papa and you… I don’t want to leave either of you.”
“What about your mother?” Talia asked, earning a grumble from the young girl, forcing the dark-haired child to quickly change tactics. “Tell you what!” she decided. “When we’re old enough, and your dad is cool is with it, we’ll travel together and see these ‘snow-less’ places.”
The girl held out her fist in front of Selena, grinning a rather silly grin, filled with teeth. Pursing her lips to the side, the pale-skinned child thought about it for a second before punching the fist with her own.
“Deal.” She agreed before joining Talia in laughing together as they got back to work on their latest snowman.
Slowly, Selena blinked away the memory, watching the images in her mind fade and be replaced with the stairway and cold-colored walls of the prison. She could, once again, hear the sound of people loudly celebrating the holiday in the next room, the piano playing more merry songs of Christmas.
Slowly, the platinum-blonde pulled herself to her feet. She felt the soft fabric of her long skirt flow down, rubbing against her legging-covered legs. Her clothes, a shoulderless, long-sleeved top that hugged her torso, were a beautiful cascade of colors. Starting at a darkish, blue and, as it flowed down, becoming different streaks of colors: from the dark blue, to the soft gray, to the light sky-blue, and, finally, the royal purple she was so fond of. Her sleeves followed a similar pattern, as did the long skirt, though it opted for only using the sky-blue and the royal purple.
Carefully, Selena smoothed out the skirt, stretching out her left, gray-legging covered leg through the high-slit in the skirt to stretch the muscle a little as well. With a sigh, she pulled herself up the few steps, stepping back into the room by opening the door, the sounds she had hurt a moment ago now filling her ears more so – almost making it impossible not to get re-caught up in the Christmas cheer. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the guard standing to the side of the door, his head turning as he spotted Selena re-entering the room.
“Thank you.” She whispered to the man, smiling at him as she handed her cellphone back over to him, not caring that she hadn’t shut it off. The tall, broad guard gently took it without fuss, allowing Selena to turn her head in time to see the contrasting colors of gray sweater and red hair as her wife, Deanna, carefully making her way through the crowd, two plates in hand which were filled with more food. The one in her left hand was filled with some shrimp and dipping sauce, mashed potatoes, and a bit of turkey while the other – Selena had to roll her eyes at the mountain of cookies, chocolates, and other various other sweets that decorated the other plate.
Carefully, Deanna handed the plate in her left hand to Selena, who took it gracefully. “Did it go well?” she asked.
The question caused the older Frost woman to roll her eyes a little and shake her head. “Considering it was Malcolm? It went as I should have expected.” Her eyes lowered down to scan the plate in Deanna’s hands. “Trying to give yourself diabetes?”
The redhead, hearing this, turned her head back to her beloved wife, her mouth full of, what appeared to be, a large, candy-cane shaped sugar-cookie. “Mmmhmmmfffettt.” She muttered before finishing her current treat with a bit more chewing and a swallow. “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I had THIS many sweets at once?”
“I…I cannot guess.” Selena answered delicately, not wanting to damper the good spirit in the room with a poor-timed joke. Fortunately, Deanna didn’t seem the least bit offended.
“Prison food is okay… but desserts aren’t very common. And they’re usually not very good. Not like this…” she grinned before devouring a piece of, what looked like to Selena, peanut brittle.
Carefully, perhaps not to lose any fingers, Selena took her free hand to caress her wife’s cheek, leaning down just as carefully to press a soft kiss to her wife’s sweets-devouring face. “I love you.” She whispered, only for Deanna, before pulling back, keeping her sapphire eyes on her beloved.
Still, the actions, in and of themselves, were enough to slow Deanna’s dessert-gobbling for a moment, the redhead turning to cast her emerald-gaze on her wife. It was then she spotted something.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her eyes growing a little wider.
“Nothing.” Selena smiled, trying to assure her. “I’m just…”
She stopped as she saw Deanna’s fingers rub against each other quickly, as if trying to knock off any crumbs or dessert from her fingertips. The older woman didn’t have time to question it as that same hand reached up towards her until the thumb was rubbing itself against Selena’s left cheek.
“What is it?” Selena asked, receiving no immediate answer from Deanna, who withdrew her hand.
“Tear-trail.” Deanna replied, her recently cheerful voice now filled with concern. “Selena?”
The Snow Queen’s hand flew to her face where Deanna had recently touched it. It was a fruitless endeavour, trying to feel any semblance of remains from the supposed ‘tear’ but she had no reason to doubt her wife.
“I…” she spoke. “I don’t know.” She whispered. She hadn’t felt the tear on her face the entire time. Hadn’t felt it slide down her cheek or fall off on its way to the ground. Had it not been for Deanna, Selena would never have known of its existence. Had she been crying? When? How? By the stairs? “I didn’t realize…” she whispered, wiping the cheek aggressively before smiling at her wife. “Really, De, I’m okay.” She sighed, putting the information in the back of her hand to analyze later, probably on the car ride back to Oberwesel.
Slowly, Deanna nodded her head before turning to lean against the wall beside her wife, the two quietly picking at their plates of food, even stealing from each other every so often. “So…” the redhead settled after several minutes. “You threw the dough and the rolling pin…”
“Oh gods…” Selena laughed before biting into a shrimp. “I really shouldn’t have done that.”
“Well…you’re the one that’s dealt with her pissed off…” teased the redhead. “You tell me how well that idea went over…”
Selena only had answer to that: “About as well as I threw the damn thing.”
*****************************************************
Regan Street’s home
Santa Monica, California
December 22nd, 2020
12:24am
The two stood there in utmost silence, once in absolute shock, the other with an anger that prevented immediate words. The sound of the crashing, floured dough and rolling pin had faded and now, both women, sisters, teammates simply stared at the concoction as it lay flat on the tiled floor.
Sharper: “There, now do you feel better?”
Knots: “Not really. Now I wish Selena would stay down.”
”What the fuck, Selena?!”
The voice rang in Selena’s ears, breaking her through the voices of memory she heard, as she turned around and saw her sister-in-arms, Regan Street, standing there and holding a glass measuring bowl filled with chopped celery and onions. Her look of shock had been mixed now with another emotion: a growing sense of anger.
“I…” Selena turned back to the mess on the floor, also spotting the large white puff of powder that newly decorated part of the kitchen wall.
“If you didn’t want to make the cookies, you could have just said so!” There was no more teasing in Regan’s voice as there had been earlier.
“And if you didn’t give a shit about us losing Frozen Hell, you should have just said so!”
The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them, but Selena gave no evidence of that, standing her ground. The Hellcat’s eyes were wide as she took in Selena’s words before setting down the glass bowl. Gone moreso was the happy, joyous – one could say ‘Christmasy’ Regan Street – and in her place stood the Hellcat. “You want to have this out now?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “You want to talk about Toronto and EOY?”
“Oh! So you are aware we have to be there for that event!” Selena laughed, her hurt leading to her current attitude and mannerisms. “What a relief! For a second there, I figured I’d have to wrestle for our tag-team survival all by myself! Good to know that you’ll be there, sis. Will you also be giving enough of a damn to participate? Or should I expect you to just take your paycheck, your title shot for 2021, and head out the door? ‘Thanks for everything, Selena! Enjoy getting manhandled and mauled again!’.”
The older woman, Regan, gave no answer or sign of one aside from the slight tilt of her lower jaw. She merely watched as her sister became more and more unwound, the platinum-blonde looking around the kitchen as her shoulders began to shake.
“Do…do you even care?” she asked. “Do you even care that he could beat us?” she asked. “Do you even care that, unlike you, I don’t get another chance at him.” She half-cried as tears came to her eyes. “I don’t get another go in the new year. I don’t get a rematch for the title he took from me! I don’t get him one-on-one to regain my pride like you did with Datura! This… this is all I have left!”
Turning, Selena fell back against the counter of the ‘island’ table in the kitchen and slid down it, only a few feet away from the glob of dough she had thrown against the wall, her head dropping onto her knees. “He’s taken everything but you away from me.” She whispered. “And now, he’s so close to doing it that I… I…” she had no words to finish it as the thought assailed her.
“HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO KILL YOU?!”
She slammed her eyes shut, letting the cries wrack through her body, returning to her original question on default. “Do you even care?” she whispered.
The silence that engulfed them was deafening, only to be broken by the sound of footsteps growing closer to Selena. She didn’t have to lift her head or open her eyes to figure out that Regan had lowered herself to the opposing wall in front of Selena only a few feet away. She heard the sandy-blonde-haired woman take a deep breath before her voice filled Selena’s ears.
“Of course I care.”
The voice was clear with no hesitation. “I care so damn much, Selena. You don’t think I haven’t had the time of my life wrestling with you by my side? You don’t think that I wish we could do this until we’re old and gray and everyone in SCW is so annoyed with us and our egos that they beg us to disband, or better yet, retire?”
Selena gave no answer, choosing only to hug her legs tighter to herself.
“But life…” Regan continued. “Life doesn’t always work that way. Things get in the way. The universe gets in the way. Or higher powers or whatever… and sometimes…” Selena did not see the Hellcat’s hand drift to her own side, pressing into it. “Sometimes things have to end before you want them to.”
A gulp of a cry came from Selena, hearing those words. Her head rose to finally take in Regan sitting before her. “So that’s it? You’ve resigned yourself to it being over? We can’t win?”
A sad smile came to Regan’s face. “No, Selena.” Regan shook her head. “We will win. I am beyond sure of that. But…” Regan sighed. “Whether it’s next week, or after the Tag-League, or a year from now or, God-willing, when we’re old and our hairs are white- er, whiter?” she gestured towards Selena’s platinum locks, earning a sad huff-laugh from the Snow Queen. “Frozen Hell will end someday. I’ve faced career-ending potentials so many times… and I… I’ve had to look back on my career over and over again. And I’ve always had to ask myself, ‘if it did all end today. Here and now, would I have regrets?’.”
Selena nodded. She knew what Regan was talking about. A number of times, when her sister-in-arms had been near the brink of walking away from SCW, Selena, along with Regan’s family, had pulled her back.
“With you and Frozen Hell?” Regan sighed softly. “I don’t have any.”
Selena’s mouth opened as if to speak but Regan lifted her hand in a silent request to let her speak. “I don’t have any because of you.” She stated. “You stayed with me through it all – all the ups and downs. All the drama my life brought out. My association with Tommy that made this more personal, my war with Xander that re-made you a target… you put everything about your own career on hold for me, just to help me do what I never could do in SCW – something you’ve already done.”
Selena sniffled a little, shaking her head. “Why does that surprise you?” she half-laughed, half-cried. “Of course I did. You’re…” she had to stop for a moment to calm her shakes. “You’re the most important person in SCW – one of the most important people in my life.”
Regan nodded, a soft smile, a mixture of happiness and sadness, came to her face. “We fought the world. We became tag-team champions. Win or lose in Toronto, we are GOING to win the Tag League…” she promised. “Xander cannot take any of that away. Not our journey, not our memories, not what we’ve accomplished. No one can do that.”
“But…” Selena leaned her head back against the counter, her eyes cast up to the ceiling. “I don’t want it to be over.” She honestly whispered, heartfelt as it was.
“Neither do I…” came the distant reply. “But I’m ready if it has to be.”
The two women, sisters-in-arms, sat in silence. For Regan, her expression was a mixture of calmness, uncertainty, but also – a sense of certainty elsewhere. For Selena, her mind still raged. Still refused to offer her the same peace her partner seemed to be experiencing…
“The referee has determined that Selena Frost passed out, and cannot continue. Therefore your winner…….AND NEW SCW UNITED STATES CHAMPION, XANDER VALENTINE!!”
In her mind, that voice warped and shifted, becoming an omen – a prediction – where body she and Regan lay in the ring, Selena unable to reach her as Xander stood above them, laughing at them, holding the title she would probably never hold again as Philips announced him the winner.
“I can’t…” she whispered, shaking her head. “I’m not ready…” her voice was a little louder. “I’m…I’m afraid…” her voice returned to barely a whisper at that.
“What?” Regan asked.
“I’m afraid!” Selena cried out. “I’m afraid that we won’t be enough. I’m afraid of what he has planned! What he can do! What he… what he did to me…”
Selena shook her head. While her match with Xander a few months ago had not been one-sided, Selena had never, in her entire career, been so manhandled as Xander had done. To see her strikes bounce off him. To see him toss her around like a ragdoll…
“I’m afraid too.” The voice of the Hellcat grabbed her attention. “Watching what he did to you…” Regan’s expression changed to that of cold anger, her gaze distant, as if reliving her own horrid version of the memory. “I’m ready for whatever he does to me now and in a month. I’m not remotely scared of that.” She smiled, almost knowingly, shaking her head as well as she spoke, until her eyes settled back on Selena. “But you?” she continued. “If he hurt you – if he injured you… that’s what scares me, Selena. Scares me more than anything that jackass can do.”
Selena’s jaw clenched and she angrily wiped the tears away from her eyes as they sat there. Regan, Selena and the ball of dough beside them, which Selena turned her head to eye.
“I’m sorry about the wall.” She whispered, causing Regan to shift in her seat to eye the white mark above them and shrug.
“Dough’s probably kneaded.” She stated, reaching over and picking up the ball before tossing it to Selena.
As the Snow Queen caught it, however, the ball of dough seemed to become a semi-grenade – for flour exploded off it, raining over Selena’s face, hair and clothes, covering part of her in powder. Selena was able to close her eyes on instinct, but that didn’t stop her ears from working – from hearing the snort of laughter that came from in front of her.
Slowly, opening her eyes, Selena’s gaze lasered in on the Hellcat, who was still snort-laughing through a hand-covered mouth. Trying to quell the laughter, Regan slowly lowered her hand, cleared her throat and calmly (tried) to speak. “Your hair doesn’t look any different.” She stated.
The Flour Queen’s closed lips tilted to the side at that remark as she cradled the ball of dough into one hand, the other scrapping the ground beside her for a small ounce of powder. The Hellcat didn’t have enough time to react as Selena chucked the powder the short distance needed to nail Regan in the face with it.
Once more the two were silent, staring down one another, flour covering one more than the other, but both seemingly having the same plan. Almost at the same time, the two women shot up to their feet and ran around the island, Selena dropping the ball of dough on the counter as she did, allowing ring to reach her target first!
Thrusting her hand into the bag of flour, the taller woman threw the whole handful at Selena, who dropped behind the counter to miss most of it. Jumping back up, the platinum-blonde grabbed her own handful of flour from the bag as Regan tried to re-grab the bag and threw the handful at point blank range, nailing Regan in the face.
What followed next could only be decreased as an all out flour war as the two took turns chasing each other and throwing hands of flour, or packed ‘snowballs’ of it at eachother around the kitchen until the bag was empty!
It was only at that point, when Selena held the empty bag in her hand and Regan was on the other side of the island countertop that the two looked around the kitchen, now covered with flour, and at one another, both breathing heavy and also covered with flour.
“Bag’s empty…” Selena waved the bag at Regan before tossing it onto the counter before the two erupted into laughter. They laughed at one another, they laughed at themselves, they laughed so long and hard until they were crying from it, once more settling on the floor beside each other.
“Well…” Selena sighed, wiping some of the flour still on her face. “You waited us to be old and white.”
“Whiter.” Regan corrected as she relaxed against the wall beside her sister. “Somehow… I knew this would happen.”
“I told you I was the worst choice to help you make food.” Selena laughed. “This is way I need to stick to takeout.”
The pair shared one more laugh as Selena’s hand quietly fished its way towards the closest of Regan’s, taking it in hers and interlacing the fingers as Regan did.
“When it’s all over…” Selena asked, turning her gaze over to Regan. “One way or another… promise me we’ll be okay.”
The Hellcat smiled lovingly at that. “We’ll be okay, Selena.” She vowed. “You’ll always be my sister.”
Selena smiled back. “And you’ll always be mine…” she returned as the two sat there amidst there much-shift winter-wonderland…
******************************************************
Loreley-Kliniken Standort St. Goar
Oberwesel, Germany
December 25th, 2020
6:54pm
Talia Scythe sat against the inclined hospital bed, her eyes fixed on the television nearby as it played the Christmas special ‘A Christmas Story’ (complete with German subtitles), which she may have enjoyed if this wasn’t the third time she had had to watch the damn thing. Upon awakening the hospital, the doctors assessing that her injuries weren’t life-threatening or critical or whatever, they had still ordered her on overnight stay in the hospital. Of course, on Christmas Day, said staff of doctors and nurses were clearly cranky, which was why, when she had asked one of them to change the channel, they had scoffed, called her a ‘Scrooge’ and, otherwise, ignored her.
“Figures.” She huffed as she laid across the mattress. “Least things can’t get worse.”
“Why do people say that?” the voice surprised the lawyer, causing her to turn her head which, thanks to the painkillers pumping through her system, caused only a mild sense of discomfort. Before her eyes, standing in the doorway of the room she was staying in, stood Selena Frost. “It’s like you’re cursing yourself. Mocking the universe when, in reality, you just want it to leave you the hell alone.”
“Oh great.” Huffed the black-haired Talia, casting her gaze to the ceiling. “Here to see if I’m still alive?”
The platinum-blonde shook her head as she walked further into the room, the light from the ceiling lamps showing off the simple clothes of black pants and dark-blue sweater she wore, her hair back in its usual braid. “No.” she replied. “The receptionist that called me assured me you were still alive.”
Gracefully, Selena pulled out a nearby chair to sit beside Talia’s bed. “You alright?” she asked, earning a scoff from Talia. “Okay…” Selena sighed. “They said you had some crushed ribs and bruising…”
Again, silence met her from Talia, who kept her eyes glued to the wall.
“Alright.” Sighed the Snow Queen. “Be a Grinch.” She half-spat as she sat back in her chair for a moment. “Did you crash your car trying to run over some innocent Whos?”
“Who?” Talia asked in sudden confusion.
“Yeah.” She replied until she spotted the confused expression on Talia’s face. “The Whos – The Grinch? Whoville? Dr. Suess?”
“Oh…right.” Talia rolled her eyes before returning to her previous expression of staring a hole through the wall. “No.” thankfully, she did answer the original question.
“Guess that’s a relief.” Selena shrugged, staying quiet for a few minutes as she began watching the television.
“Why are you here?” Talia suddenly asked sharply.
The question earned a slow sigh from the hospital-guest. It was a question she had been grappling with the moment she had finished calling Malcolm back in Frankfurt. She had travelled the hour and a half back to Oberwesel thinking it, changed her clothes thinking it, gotten back into her car thinking it and, up until she had walked through the door into this room, she had been thinking the same question over and over again.
“I don’t have an answer for that.” She said. “Wish I did, cause I’ve been thinking about it all day. “I mean, if the roles were reversed-“
“Exactly.” Was all Talia would say.
“Yeah…” Selena muttered. “Exactly…”
“Thing is…” she continued. “Despite everything, I’ve hated that Malcolm forced you to stay here. And I hated the idea of you being without anyone…now, for the holidays.”
The confession was slow and Selena was sure Talia would interrupt by laughing in her face or mocking her in some way. However, the lawyer remained silent, keeping her eyes anywhere but on Selena.
“I don’t know.” Selena shrugged. “Maybe it’s because, despite her being in prison, I can see Deanna today – made me feel sorry-“
“I don’t need your pity.”
“Whatever.” Selena sighed. “Call it whatever you want. But I think it’s unfair to you.”
“Life is unfair.” Talia lifted her arm, showing the IV needle ‘plugged’ into it. “Case in point.”
The two were silent once more, the only sound coming from the television and the occasional nurse walking by. Selena continued to watch the Christmas special until the moment where Ralphie was playing with his toy-rifle in the yard, Christmas having concluded for the storied family.
“You know…” Selena tried. “As a kid, I used to think that Ralphie ‘shot his eye out’ because of the recoil from the gun. Like he wasn’t holding it right? But apparently, it was the BB ricocheting back at him…”
Silence was the response, except for the special playing.
“Just…outlooks change when you grow up, right?” she tried again and got nowhere. Releasing a sigh, Selena lowered her head a little and biting her lower lip between her teeth.
“I mean, it’s funny.” She slowly started once more. “When we were kids, you use to talk about wanting nothing but to travel the world and leave Nome. In some way, I sort of became the same way after my father disappeared. Now?” she was unable to stop the ironic chuckle that escaped her. “There are days where I miss it and have to go back to it… and you’re trying like hell just to get back there…”
She turned her head back to her childhood friend-turned enemy, and when Talia ignored her again, Selena could only shake her head sadly before pushing herself up to her feet. “We’ll figure it out, Talia. To get Deanna out and to get you home, okay? Don’t go trying to kill yourself just to try and make that happen because you think you’re alone…”
Slowly, Selena lifted her hand, revealing the small, green bag she had been holding the whole time placing it on the small table beside Talia’s bed. She saw Talia’s eyes catch the movement and, temporarily, shift to the bag before concentrating on the wall again.
“Merry Christmas.” Selena wished before walking away from Talia, heading towards the door.
“Wait.” the sudden voice caught her by surprise, though she turned around slowly to face Talia again.
Caught, and perhaps a little embarrassed, Talia’s gaze shifted between the retreating woman and upraised television, just as it was about to play “A Christmas Story” once again. “Change that channel, will ya?” she asked lamely.
She didn’t see the small smile that came to Selena’s lips as the platinum-blonde walked the few steps needed to reach up and press one of the buttons on the TV. The screen flickered as Selena went through the channels before it settled on the Hallmark Channel. “Good?” she offered Talia.
“Yeah.” Talia said dismissively, focusing on the new special on the television. Taking that as her cue to leave, Selena resumed her exit and was out of the hospital seconds later. Had she of turned back, however, she would have, eventually noticed Talia digging into the bag to try the Candy-Cane Pinwheel cookies that were inside…
______________________________________
![[Image: tetXUW1.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/tetXUW1.gif)
The camera fades from the graphic to a shot of the exterior of the Scotiabank Place, a flurry of snow falling amongst the night air. The camera slowly approaches the arena before fading to an interior shot of the arena, specifically where the SCW wrestling ring is set up for tonight’s End of the Year event, the final event of 2020 for Supreme Championship Wrestling. The space is empty, common setting for this SCW promo-segment, and familiar arctic-blue and white lights cast their illumination onto the ring, where the Snow Queen stands in the middle, simply taking the scene in.
For every beginning, there comes an end… her voice, though a whisper, is easily picked up by the camera that focuses on her. Title reigns, careers, life itself… she shrugs. Has to end eventually.
And here… it’s almost beautiful, in a sense. Because I’ve seen some amazing beginnings here.
Reaching out, a pale hand caresses the nearby rope. It was at this event that I first came to SCW…
The shot fizzles and changes to a flashback of a younger Selena seven years ago, making her way down the ring, the voice of Sharper and Knots are heard.
The Snow Queen, Selena Frost making her in-ring debut here tonight. A rookie in most cases, but knows how to handle herself.
Yeah, but can she handle herself with so many people in this ring. This isn’t just a matter of beating someone down. This is about surviving.
The flashback fades back to Selena, her eyes out towards the empty seats surrounding her. It was here at this event that I did what I never believed I could…
Again, the video changes to a more recent End of the Year event, showing Selena Frost nailing Alexis Quinne in the head with her “Defying Gravity” kick before pinning her for the three count, the official eventually handing her the SCW World Championship as Sharper is heard once more.
Selena Frost with a banner year. Shot of Adrenaline, Best of the Best, Female of the Year…and now World Champion. Selena Frost enters 2017 on top!
Selena is seen embracing her wife and children at ringside at the event before the replay fades back to present Selena standing in the ring, leaning over the ropes.
I got married this time of year. Gave birth to my first daughter this time of year. So many of my most precious memories, as a wrestler, as a person, are tied up here around this time and this event. And they all have reminded me of one thing, it’s this: No matter how strong my opponent. No matter how large an obstacle is. No matter how improbable the odds are against me, in SCW, in life, no one – except me – controls my fate. No one controls my story. My life.
Taking a deep breath and wringing the rope with her hands, Selena shakes her head, her iconic braid shifting a little against her leather jacket.
So you will forgive me, Xander Valentine, if I don’t believe the hypocritical bullshit you’re trying to spew in an attempt to do just that!
I mean, I expected you to be arrogant, Xander. Truly. Because what kind of mind, even with the stakes so against Regan and I, agrees to a handicap match against two of the most powerful women in SCW? What kind of man preaches utter domination when he can barely handle one of us at a time?
Selena scoffs. An arrogant jackass, that’s who. And I expected that, Xander. I expected you to be so when you came forward. But – to quote you – somehow, I expected more. No… I’m sorry, that’s not right. Let me rephrase:
From the supposed “honest man”? I expected at least an ounce of honesty.
Turning, the Snow Queen paces a little within the ring, the camera following her.
What was it you said, Xander? That you’re the only ‘honest’ man? That right? That, unlike Regan and I, you don’t use hyperboles and superlatives to paint yourself in a better light?
Yet you say you’re ‘cast off as a pariah’? You’re the ‘scapegoat’? You’re ‘the victim’? Selena shakes her head. Oh no, that’s not it. You’re a ‘force of nature’! You’re ‘The Executioner’, right? You’re ‘death itself’! her tone of mockery turns into something colder.
You’re the man that claimed he would ‘forever freeze me in place’, remember? You’re the man that claimed that he would wrap me in darkness to which I would never be able to emerge from. Her eyes narrowed. You tried to label me as a mere ‘shadow of SCW’.
So please, tell us more about how ‘honest’ you are! Tell us all how you don’t need such exaggerations before you blast off in the same promo about how you’re ‘The Executioner’ and we are ‘the condemned’!
The Snow Queen shrugs. Or are you just full of shit, Xander? Are you just spewing whatever poetic rhetoric you can come up with because, deep down, you’re just talking out your ass? Saying whatever you can to keep the fascade of ‘untouchable’ alive in your head?
Because while we’re on the subject of ‘honesty’ and ‘honour’, are those really the right words for you? I mean, what kind of honour is there that you can attack an old man? Or attack defenseless fans? What kind of honour do you possess that you need to go after a manager? Or better yet, how about we talk about honesty in relation to the word you threw around Regan and I: Respect.
Again, Selena raises her arms and drops them back at her sides. How bout it, Xander? Want to bring that in? You say you respect us but then do all you’ve done to this point? To me, my family, to Regan, Regan’s family?
Selena shakes her head. Honesty? Respect? Honour? Come on, Xander. Let’s REALLY be honest here. You don’t give a damn about those words. You’re just a hypocrite, lying and tossing words around to control the narrative.
Because face it, Xander, that’s ALL you’ve been trying to do from the get go! In the beginning? When you came back? The supposed man that ‘doesn’t need to remind people who he is’? That’s all this has been about to you! Trying to get your damned ‘throne’ back. Trying to get people to ‘fear’ you again like they did fifteen years ago.
You had the chance to start anew, Xander. Be something new, but you didn’t because deep down, Xander: You WANT to be the monster. You WANT to be seen as the Boogeyman! And it pissed you off that no one saw you as that when you came back for the umpteenth time. It pissed you off that you were nothing more than a hired goon. A thug for hire!
The platinum-blonde bites her lower lip, her frustration apparent. Xander… We didn’t make you a ‘monster’. We didn’t ‘vilify’ you. You CHOSE that direction when you came back. You CHOSE that journey for your story to take. You only blame us because it gives you a sense of justification to hide behind, doesn’t it? Make it everyone else’s fault and you can’t be held accountable, right? You’re just ‘a man standing up for himself who may SNAP’, right?
Well, what about us? Selena stands in the middle of the ring. What about the people you hurt? What about the people you tried to remove from SCW? What about the people you took things from? What happens when they ‘snap’?
I’ll tell you what happens, Xander. They fight back. They attack. They throw their concerns and ‘fears’ out the damn window. They don’t give a damn about being a ‘hero’ or a ‘monster slayer’ and they just go for the source of your twisted BS. she holds up a finger, slicing it gently against her neck. The throat.
A clip of Regan Street locking Xander in a side-headlock is played in an instant over top of Selena before returning back.
The mouth.
Another clip is shown just as quickly, this of Selena, herself, nailing Xander Valentine in the head and jaw with her ‘Defying Gravity’ kick.
And they don’t stop, Xander. They don’t stop just because you try and crawl away. They don’t stop because you’ve ‘had enough’. They don’t stop, Xander, until you have paid for every slight. Every attack. Every vile thing you have done.
Selena slows, taking a deep breath or two.
For so long now, you have tried to control not only the narrative of yourself but Regan and mine as well…
You’ve tried hurting our loved ones.
You’ve tried to put us on the shelf.
You’ve tried to diminish who we are and what we have done in this company.
And you’ve tried to make us nothing more than ants under your boot. Creatures that need you to feel empowered or relevant or important.
You’re wrong, Xander.
A slow, deep breath comes from the Snow Queen as she stands defiantly in the ring.
We do not need you.
I’ve seen Regan and I do great things. On our own and together. You said it yourself – what we can do eclipses all you’ve done, even single-handedly. We’ve defied expectations that you have never had to deal with. We’ve overcome odds that you can’t even comprehend. And despite every attack from you, every trick, every nefarious act you’ve thrown at us, we’ve still managed to get back to our feet and keep wrestling!
How many times did you quit SCW when the going got tough, Xander? How many times did you run away in the last fifteen years when you weren’t instantly heralded as some ‘force of nature’?
Year after year, obstacle after obstacle, Regan and I have survived and overcome everything and everyone that sought to separate us from SCW! Not because we never wanted to ‘call it a day’. Not because we never ‘had doubts’, but because we love this place and we love the SCW Universe!
She points to the ring apron, her words echoing within the space.
So, who is truly the ‘lesser’ of us, Xander, huh? We don’t you need you, Xander! It’s YOU that needs US! It’s YOU that needs SCW!
Look at you, Xander. The only man with clauses upon clauses stitched into his contract. A leash by Sasha D.. And you obey, because without Regan and I to fight you? Without others to defy you? Without SCW to allow you to do what you love to truly do? You’re not a monster. You’re not a martyr. You’re not a pariah, like you claim. You’re not even a champion.
You’re just a bitter, disturbed man. To cowardly to be anything more. To afraid to truly be honest with himself.
The platinum-blonde’s voice is quiet as she lets her words settle.
Regan and I have defied you every step of the way. We have overcome everything you’ve thrown at us together – and tonight, we are going to defy you once more… We are going to overcome you once more!
Not just as wrestlers.
Not just as a tag-team.
Not just as sisters.
But as a family.
Reaching up, Selena tucks her braid behind her shoulder. Because whether you are a ‘monster’, a ‘pariah’, or just the cowardly man I see you as, Xander – you can’t break what she and I have. You can’t kill it. You can’t stop it. You can’t silence it. You can’t deny it…
And tonight… you won’t be able to end it either.
Tonight, Frozen Hell will decide its fate and control the narrative of its story! And that story will not end because of you, Xander. I swear it. You will not be our ending tonight… sapphire eyes narrow. You will simply be a footnote.
Believe it, Xander. And have a happy new year…
The camera fades to black on Selena, standing defiantly in the ring…
The Dark Side of the Sun
”Should Old Acquaintance be Forgot?”
Frankfurt Prison III
December 25th, 2020
Frankfurt, Germany
1:42pm
“Let me see if I get this straight.” The voice drawled on in Selena’s ear through the receiver in her cellphone as she sat on the flight of stairs just outside of the prison lounge where the Christmas party of the Frankfurt Prison III was still taking place. The Warden, upon the Snow Queen explaining the phone-call she had received from the hospital in Oberwesel, had graciously allowed her to use her cellphone to contact the proper family, who currently was not too pleased at all. “You woke me up at…” there was a pause in the weary man’s voice, as if he was checking the nearest clock or display of time. “Damn near four a.m-“
“Yes-“ Selena tried but was interjected immediately.
“Just to tell me that Talia has been in a car accident?”
“Just?” Selena could not believe the, seemingly, unfazed tone she was hearing. “Malcolm, she has three crushed ribs and almost got her lung punctured. Not to mention the bruising and-“
“I appreciate the update.” The mayor of Nome stated dryly. “But I fail to see the need to contact me about it now?”
“Wh-“ Selena stammered in disbelief. “Because she’s your daughter-in-law! You need to contact Ryan and I tell him his wife-“
“Oh I’m sure he’ll be as annoyed as I am that you are disturbing us on Christmas morning. I hate to break it to you, child, but I do have obligations that I’m trying to rest up for.”
“What the hell is the matter with you?” Selena asked incredulously. “Get Ryan, get on a plane, and get your asses over here! She needs her family!”
There was a pause on the other line, during which Selena’s hand flew up to rub at her uncovered temple in aggravation. Though she despised any kind of contact with Malcolm Scythe, she had not hesitated to dial his number into the phone once she had gotten the call about Talia’s hospital residence.
“Suppose I wanted to, Mrs. Frost.” Came the cold, commanding voice of Malcolm Scythe. “Disregarding the fact that Talia is exiled to Germany – and has been for close to two years, of which she has made no progress – All airports in Nome are currently closed for Christmas. Private charters need to be booked in advance and I do not have the desire to call my staff and secure one simply because my disappointment of a step-daughter ran a red light!”
His words stunned the Snow Queen, her mouth hanging open, shaking ever so slightly as she tried to formulate any kind of verbal response to that. It was beyond cruel what the man was saying! Even for someone like Talia!
“Frankly, my dear…” Malcolm prattled on. “I am beginning to doubt my investment in her all these years as being worthwhile. There has to come a time when a man has to cut his losses. I am sure you can understand that rather well.”
“This isn’t about gains and losses, Malcolm.” Selena hissed. “She’s your family. She’s worked her ass off to figure out a way to get Deanna out and to come home.”
“No hard enough, it would seem.”
“Oh, you could do better, Malcolm? Is that what you’re saying?” Selena shot back. “You’re such a big shot in rinky, dink Nome? You can get my wife out of here?!”
“No.” Malcolm replied simply. “And I wouldn’t have promised you I could either. I don’t make promises based on empty lies. That was Talia’s mistake.”
Selena’s lips formed a firm line as she inhaled and exhaled harshly through her nose. There was, indeed, some truth to Malcolm’s words. It had been Talia’s obsession with Selena, her desire for revenge for a childhood mistake, that had caused Talia to gamble everything on only partial information. Make no mistake, the person at fault for Talia being exiled to Frankfurt and Oberwesel was Talia, herself.
“To hell with that, Malcolm.” Selena stated. “This isn’t about her exile. This is about being a decent human being and-“
“Good-bye, Mrs. Frost.” Malcolm replied coldly. “Give my regards to my grandchildren.”
The line went died with sickening soft click. With an angry growl, Selena punched in the number again. “You damned son of a-“ only to be met with an instant “the number you have dialed is currently unreachable” auto-message, which caused another angry yell to come from the woman as she smacked her phone against her closest leg at the knee, her free hand backhand-punching the nearby stone wall, which was cold and hard to the touch.
She simply stayed like that for several minutes, inhaling and exhaling slowly. She had, in her frustration, undone her hair from its braid during the long phone call with Malcolm, allowing her to angrily run her hand through her scalp as she scratched the surface.
Why are there so many people in my life whose soul purpose, it seems, is to piss me of? she asked herself, only for her mind, as if answering itself, to instantly fire back. Way. The Hell. Do You. Care?
That question did seem to catch Selena off for a moment, her eyes lifting a little to stare down the short flight of stairs that she occupied. Why did she care? Talia had been her enemy for nearly twenty damned years! She had made the platinum-blonde’s life a living hell – from their school days in Nome, to aiding Malcolm Scythe in kidnapping Selena’s children, to that whole fiasco in Nome that had been them competing in the revived “Snow Queen Pageant”. Talia had been nothing but trouble and had wasted Selena’s time and given false hope to her and her children into getting Deanna out of prison.
Maybe it was fate? Maybe Talia getting into a car accident was fate, like Selena, having enough of the bullshit from the Scythe family. Maybe-
The Snow Queen stopped that trail of thoughts immediately, not by choice, but because a second thought rammed in front of it, taking up the priority.
Because what? the voice (still hers, but stronger, kinder). Because she hasn’t suffered enough already? She’s trapped here. She has to not only watch you raise children, which she doesn’t have, but also watches as you travel the world – literally!
What followed next – perhaps triggered by her mind’s use of those specific words – was a memory, played out behind Selena’s eyes. There, she saw her and Talia, as children, running around in one of the many snowy fields of Nome, Alaska, throwing snowballs at each other and building snowmen. Laughing and hugging, making snow angels… why was she thinking about this now?
”Hey Selena!” the young girl spoke as she fit the smallest size ball of snow onto the top of the ‘Snowman’ pile they had made.
“What?” Selena saw her younger ‘self’ answer as she patted the surface of the middle ball – the ‘torso of the snowman’.
“You ever think of leaving here?”
“Here?” the young girl asked. “Like…Nome?”
“Sure!” Talia answered! “Like… see the world! I heard-“ she leaned excitedly against the snowman, carefully not to knock it over. “There are some places that are so warm that it NEVER snows there.”
“Never?!” the child’s eyes were wide at that, sapphire eyes in wonder at such an idea. “Where would that be?”
“Don’t know. Cali-“ Talia tried to pronounce the word properly. “Califlower? That’s not it. But my dad said there are several places!”
“No way.” Selena shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”
“Why not?” laughed Talia. “If there are placed that get snow non-stop, like here, can’t there be places that don’t?”
“I guess.” The platinum-blonde child shrugged her shoulders. “But, I… I don’t think I could leave here.” She admitted. “It’s…”
“Scary?” teased her friend, sticking her tongue out playfully.
“N-no!” young-Selena stammered defensively. “It’s just… Papa and you… I don’t want to leave either of you.”
“What about your mother?” Talia asked, earning a grumble from the young girl, forcing the dark-haired child to quickly change tactics. “Tell you what!” she decided. “When we’re old enough, and your dad is cool is with it, we’ll travel together and see these ‘snow-less’ places.”
The girl held out her fist in front of Selena, grinning a rather silly grin, filled with teeth. Pursing her lips to the side, the pale-skinned child thought about it for a second before punching the fist with her own.
“Deal.” She agreed before joining Talia in laughing together as they got back to work on their latest snowman.
Slowly, Selena blinked away the memory, watching the images in her mind fade and be replaced with the stairway and cold-colored walls of the prison. She could, once again, hear the sound of people loudly celebrating the holiday in the next room, the piano playing more merry songs of Christmas.
Slowly, the platinum-blonde pulled herself to her feet. She felt the soft fabric of her long skirt flow down, rubbing against her legging-covered legs. Her clothes, a shoulderless, long-sleeved top that hugged her torso, were a beautiful cascade of colors. Starting at a darkish, blue and, as it flowed down, becoming different streaks of colors: from the dark blue, to the soft gray, to the light sky-blue, and, finally, the royal purple she was so fond of. Her sleeves followed a similar pattern, as did the long skirt, though it opted for only using the sky-blue and the royal purple.
Carefully, Selena smoothed out the skirt, stretching out her left, gray-legging covered leg through the high-slit in the skirt to stretch the muscle a little as well. With a sigh, she pulled herself up the few steps, stepping back into the room by opening the door, the sounds she had hurt a moment ago now filling her ears more so – almost making it impossible not to get re-caught up in the Christmas cheer. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the guard standing to the side of the door, his head turning as he spotted Selena re-entering the room.
“Thank you.” She whispered to the man, smiling at him as she handed her cellphone back over to him, not caring that she hadn’t shut it off. The tall, broad guard gently took it without fuss, allowing Selena to turn her head in time to see the contrasting colors of gray sweater and red hair as her wife, Deanna, carefully making her way through the crowd, two plates in hand which were filled with more food. The one in her left hand was filled with some shrimp and dipping sauce, mashed potatoes, and a bit of turkey while the other – Selena had to roll her eyes at the mountain of cookies, chocolates, and other various other sweets that decorated the other plate.
Carefully, Deanna handed the plate in her left hand to Selena, who took it gracefully. “Did it go well?” she asked.
The question caused the older Frost woman to roll her eyes a little and shake her head. “Considering it was Malcolm? It went as I should have expected.” Her eyes lowered down to scan the plate in Deanna’s hands. “Trying to give yourself diabetes?”
The redhead, hearing this, turned her head back to her beloved wife, her mouth full of, what appeared to be, a large, candy-cane shaped sugar-cookie. “Mmmhmmmfffettt.” She muttered before finishing her current treat with a bit more chewing and a swallow. “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I had THIS many sweets at once?”
“I…I cannot guess.” Selena answered delicately, not wanting to damper the good spirit in the room with a poor-timed joke. Fortunately, Deanna didn’t seem the least bit offended.
“Prison food is okay… but desserts aren’t very common. And they’re usually not very good. Not like this…” she grinned before devouring a piece of, what looked like to Selena, peanut brittle.
Carefully, perhaps not to lose any fingers, Selena took her free hand to caress her wife’s cheek, leaning down just as carefully to press a soft kiss to her wife’s sweets-devouring face. “I love you.” She whispered, only for Deanna, before pulling back, keeping her sapphire eyes on her beloved.
Still, the actions, in and of themselves, were enough to slow Deanna’s dessert-gobbling for a moment, the redhead turning to cast her emerald-gaze on her wife. It was then she spotted something.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her eyes growing a little wider.
“Nothing.” Selena smiled, trying to assure her. “I’m just…”
She stopped as she saw Deanna’s fingers rub against each other quickly, as if trying to knock off any crumbs or dessert from her fingertips. The older woman didn’t have time to question it as that same hand reached up towards her until the thumb was rubbing itself against Selena’s left cheek.
“What is it?” Selena asked, receiving no immediate answer from Deanna, who withdrew her hand.
“Tear-trail.” Deanna replied, her recently cheerful voice now filled with concern. “Selena?”
The Snow Queen’s hand flew to her face where Deanna had recently touched it. It was a fruitless endeavour, trying to feel any semblance of remains from the supposed ‘tear’ but she had no reason to doubt her wife.
“I…” she spoke. “I don’t know.” She whispered. She hadn’t felt the tear on her face the entire time. Hadn’t felt it slide down her cheek or fall off on its way to the ground. Had it not been for Deanna, Selena would never have known of its existence. Had she been crying? When? How? By the stairs? “I didn’t realize…” she whispered, wiping the cheek aggressively before smiling at her wife. “Really, De, I’m okay.” She sighed, putting the information in the back of her hand to analyze later, probably on the car ride back to Oberwesel.
Slowly, Deanna nodded her head before turning to lean against the wall beside her wife, the two quietly picking at their plates of food, even stealing from each other every so often. “So…” the redhead settled after several minutes. “You threw the dough and the rolling pin…”
“Oh gods…” Selena laughed before biting into a shrimp. “I really shouldn’t have done that.”
“Well…you’re the one that’s dealt with her pissed off…” teased the redhead. “You tell me how well that idea went over…”
Selena only had answer to that: “About as well as I threw the damn thing.”
*****************************************************
Regan Street’s home
Santa Monica, California
December 22nd, 2020
12:24am
The two stood there in utmost silence, once in absolute shock, the other with an anger that prevented immediate words. The sound of the crashing, floured dough and rolling pin had faded and now, both women, sisters, teammates simply stared at the concoction as it lay flat on the tiled floor.
Sharper: “There, now do you feel better?”
Knots: “Not really. Now I wish Selena would stay down.”
”What the fuck, Selena?!”
The voice rang in Selena’s ears, breaking her through the voices of memory she heard, as she turned around and saw her sister-in-arms, Regan Street, standing there and holding a glass measuring bowl filled with chopped celery and onions. Her look of shock had been mixed now with another emotion: a growing sense of anger.
“I…” Selena turned back to the mess on the floor, also spotting the large white puff of powder that newly decorated part of the kitchen wall.
“If you didn’t want to make the cookies, you could have just said so!” There was no more teasing in Regan’s voice as there had been earlier.
“And if you didn’t give a shit about us losing Frozen Hell, you should have just said so!”
The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them, but Selena gave no evidence of that, standing her ground. The Hellcat’s eyes were wide as she took in Selena’s words before setting down the glass bowl. Gone moreso was the happy, joyous – one could say ‘Christmasy’ Regan Street – and in her place stood the Hellcat. “You want to have this out now?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “You want to talk about Toronto and EOY?”
“Oh! So you are aware we have to be there for that event!” Selena laughed, her hurt leading to her current attitude and mannerisms. “What a relief! For a second there, I figured I’d have to wrestle for our tag-team survival all by myself! Good to know that you’ll be there, sis. Will you also be giving enough of a damn to participate? Or should I expect you to just take your paycheck, your title shot for 2021, and head out the door? ‘Thanks for everything, Selena! Enjoy getting manhandled and mauled again!’.”
The older woman, Regan, gave no answer or sign of one aside from the slight tilt of her lower jaw. She merely watched as her sister became more and more unwound, the platinum-blonde looking around the kitchen as her shoulders began to shake.
“Do…do you even care?” she asked. “Do you even care that he could beat us?” she asked. “Do you even care that, unlike you, I don’t get another chance at him.” She half-cried as tears came to her eyes. “I don’t get another go in the new year. I don’t get a rematch for the title he took from me! I don’t get him one-on-one to regain my pride like you did with Datura! This… this is all I have left!”
Turning, Selena fell back against the counter of the ‘island’ table in the kitchen and slid down it, only a few feet away from the glob of dough she had thrown against the wall, her head dropping onto her knees. “He’s taken everything but you away from me.” She whispered. “And now, he’s so close to doing it that I… I…” she had no words to finish it as the thought assailed her.
“HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO KILL YOU?!”
She slammed her eyes shut, letting the cries wrack through her body, returning to her original question on default. “Do you even care?” she whispered.
The silence that engulfed them was deafening, only to be broken by the sound of footsteps growing closer to Selena. She didn’t have to lift her head or open her eyes to figure out that Regan had lowered herself to the opposing wall in front of Selena only a few feet away. She heard the sandy-blonde-haired woman take a deep breath before her voice filled Selena’s ears.
“Of course I care.”
The voice was clear with no hesitation. “I care so damn much, Selena. You don’t think I haven’t had the time of my life wrestling with you by my side? You don’t think that I wish we could do this until we’re old and gray and everyone in SCW is so annoyed with us and our egos that they beg us to disband, or better yet, retire?”
Selena gave no answer, choosing only to hug her legs tighter to herself.
“But life…” Regan continued. “Life doesn’t always work that way. Things get in the way. The universe gets in the way. Or higher powers or whatever… and sometimes…” Selena did not see the Hellcat’s hand drift to her own side, pressing into it. “Sometimes things have to end before you want them to.”
A gulp of a cry came from Selena, hearing those words. Her head rose to finally take in Regan sitting before her. “So that’s it? You’ve resigned yourself to it being over? We can’t win?”
A sad smile came to Regan’s face. “No, Selena.” Regan shook her head. “We will win. I am beyond sure of that. But…” Regan sighed. “Whether it’s next week, or after the Tag-League, or a year from now or, God-willing, when we’re old and our hairs are white- er, whiter?” she gestured towards Selena’s platinum locks, earning a sad huff-laugh from the Snow Queen. “Frozen Hell will end someday. I’ve faced career-ending potentials so many times… and I… I’ve had to look back on my career over and over again. And I’ve always had to ask myself, ‘if it did all end today. Here and now, would I have regrets?’.”
Selena nodded. She knew what Regan was talking about. A number of times, when her sister-in-arms had been near the brink of walking away from SCW, Selena, along with Regan’s family, had pulled her back.
“With you and Frozen Hell?” Regan sighed softly. “I don’t have any.”
Selena’s mouth opened as if to speak but Regan lifted her hand in a silent request to let her speak. “I don’t have any because of you.” She stated. “You stayed with me through it all – all the ups and downs. All the drama my life brought out. My association with Tommy that made this more personal, my war with Xander that re-made you a target… you put everything about your own career on hold for me, just to help me do what I never could do in SCW – something you’ve already done.”
Selena sniffled a little, shaking her head. “Why does that surprise you?” she half-laughed, half-cried. “Of course I did. You’re…” she had to stop for a moment to calm her shakes. “You’re the most important person in SCW – one of the most important people in my life.”
Regan nodded, a soft smile, a mixture of happiness and sadness, came to her face. “We fought the world. We became tag-team champions. Win or lose in Toronto, we are GOING to win the Tag League…” she promised. “Xander cannot take any of that away. Not our journey, not our memories, not what we’ve accomplished. No one can do that.”
“But…” Selena leaned her head back against the counter, her eyes cast up to the ceiling. “I don’t want it to be over.” She honestly whispered, heartfelt as it was.
“Neither do I…” came the distant reply. “But I’m ready if it has to be.”
The two women, sisters-in-arms, sat in silence. For Regan, her expression was a mixture of calmness, uncertainty, but also – a sense of certainty elsewhere. For Selena, her mind still raged. Still refused to offer her the same peace her partner seemed to be experiencing…
“The referee has determined that Selena Frost passed out, and cannot continue. Therefore your winner…….AND NEW SCW UNITED STATES CHAMPION, XANDER VALENTINE!!”
In her mind, that voice warped and shifted, becoming an omen – a prediction – where body she and Regan lay in the ring, Selena unable to reach her as Xander stood above them, laughing at them, holding the title she would probably never hold again as Philips announced him the winner.
“I can’t…” she whispered, shaking her head. “I’m not ready…” her voice was a little louder. “I’m…I’m afraid…” her voice returned to barely a whisper at that.
“What?” Regan asked.
“I’m afraid!” Selena cried out. “I’m afraid that we won’t be enough. I’m afraid of what he has planned! What he can do! What he… what he did to me…”
Selena shook her head. While her match with Xander a few months ago had not been one-sided, Selena had never, in her entire career, been so manhandled as Xander had done. To see her strikes bounce off him. To see him toss her around like a ragdoll…
“I’m afraid too.” The voice of the Hellcat grabbed her attention. “Watching what he did to you…” Regan’s expression changed to that of cold anger, her gaze distant, as if reliving her own horrid version of the memory. “I’m ready for whatever he does to me now and in a month. I’m not remotely scared of that.” She smiled, almost knowingly, shaking her head as well as she spoke, until her eyes settled back on Selena. “But you?” she continued. “If he hurt you – if he injured you… that’s what scares me, Selena. Scares me more than anything that jackass can do.”
Selena’s jaw clenched and she angrily wiped the tears away from her eyes as they sat there. Regan, Selena and the ball of dough beside them, which Selena turned her head to eye.
“I’m sorry about the wall.” She whispered, causing Regan to shift in her seat to eye the white mark above them and shrug.
“Dough’s probably kneaded.” She stated, reaching over and picking up the ball before tossing it to Selena.
As the Snow Queen caught it, however, the ball of dough seemed to become a semi-grenade – for flour exploded off it, raining over Selena’s face, hair and clothes, covering part of her in powder. Selena was able to close her eyes on instinct, but that didn’t stop her ears from working – from hearing the snort of laughter that came from in front of her.
Slowly, opening her eyes, Selena’s gaze lasered in on the Hellcat, who was still snort-laughing through a hand-covered mouth. Trying to quell the laughter, Regan slowly lowered her hand, cleared her throat and calmly (tried) to speak. “Your hair doesn’t look any different.” She stated.
The Flour Queen’s closed lips tilted to the side at that remark as she cradled the ball of dough into one hand, the other scrapping the ground beside her for a small ounce of powder. The Hellcat didn’t have enough time to react as Selena chucked the powder the short distance needed to nail Regan in the face with it.
Once more the two were silent, staring down one another, flour covering one more than the other, but both seemingly having the same plan. Almost at the same time, the two women shot up to their feet and ran around the island, Selena dropping the ball of dough on the counter as she did, allowing ring to reach her target first!
Thrusting her hand into the bag of flour, the taller woman threw the whole handful at Selena, who dropped behind the counter to miss most of it. Jumping back up, the platinum-blonde grabbed her own handful of flour from the bag as Regan tried to re-grab the bag and threw the handful at point blank range, nailing Regan in the face.
What followed next could only be decreased as an all out flour war as the two took turns chasing each other and throwing hands of flour, or packed ‘snowballs’ of it at eachother around the kitchen until the bag was empty!
It was only at that point, when Selena held the empty bag in her hand and Regan was on the other side of the island countertop that the two looked around the kitchen, now covered with flour, and at one another, both breathing heavy and also covered with flour.
“Bag’s empty…” Selena waved the bag at Regan before tossing it onto the counter before the two erupted into laughter. They laughed at one another, they laughed at themselves, they laughed so long and hard until they were crying from it, once more settling on the floor beside each other.
“Well…” Selena sighed, wiping some of the flour still on her face. “You waited us to be old and white.”
“Whiter.” Regan corrected as she relaxed against the wall beside her sister. “Somehow… I knew this would happen.”
“I told you I was the worst choice to help you make food.” Selena laughed. “This is way I need to stick to takeout.”
The pair shared one more laugh as Selena’s hand quietly fished its way towards the closest of Regan’s, taking it in hers and interlacing the fingers as Regan did.
“When it’s all over…” Selena asked, turning her gaze over to Regan. “One way or another… promise me we’ll be okay.”
The Hellcat smiled lovingly at that. “We’ll be okay, Selena.” She vowed. “You’ll always be my sister.”
Selena smiled back. “And you’ll always be mine…” she returned as the two sat there amidst there much-shift winter-wonderland…
******************************************************
Loreley-Kliniken Standort St. Goar
Oberwesel, Germany
December 25th, 2020
6:54pm
Talia Scythe sat against the inclined hospital bed, her eyes fixed on the television nearby as it played the Christmas special ‘A Christmas Story’ (complete with German subtitles), which she may have enjoyed if this wasn’t the third time she had had to watch the damn thing. Upon awakening the hospital, the doctors assessing that her injuries weren’t life-threatening or critical or whatever, they had still ordered her on overnight stay in the hospital. Of course, on Christmas Day, said staff of doctors and nurses were clearly cranky, which was why, when she had asked one of them to change the channel, they had scoffed, called her a ‘Scrooge’ and, otherwise, ignored her.
“Figures.” She huffed as she laid across the mattress. “Least things can’t get worse.”
“Why do people say that?” the voice surprised the lawyer, causing her to turn her head which, thanks to the painkillers pumping through her system, caused only a mild sense of discomfort. Before her eyes, standing in the doorway of the room she was staying in, stood Selena Frost. “It’s like you’re cursing yourself. Mocking the universe when, in reality, you just want it to leave you the hell alone.”
“Oh great.” Huffed the black-haired Talia, casting her gaze to the ceiling. “Here to see if I’m still alive?”
The platinum-blonde shook her head as she walked further into the room, the light from the ceiling lamps showing off the simple clothes of black pants and dark-blue sweater she wore, her hair back in its usual braid. “No.” she replied. “The receptionist that called me assured me you were still alive.”
Gracefully, Selena pulled out a nearby chair to sit beside Talia’s bed. “You alright?” she asked, earning a scoff from Talia. “Okay…” Selena sighed. “They said you had some crushed ribs and bruising…”
Again, silence met her from Talia, who kept her eyes glued to the wall.
“Alright.” Sighed the Snow Queen. “Be a Grinch.” She half-spat as she sat back in her chair for a moment. “Did you crash your car trying to run over some innocent Whos?”
“Who?” Talia asked in sudden confusion.
“Yeah.” She replied until she spotted the confused expression on Talia’s face. “The Whos – The Grinch? Whoville? Dr. Suess?”
“Oh…right.” Talia rolled her eyes before returning to her previous expression of staring a hole through the wall. “No.” thankfully, she did answer the original question.
“Guess that’s a relief.” Selena shrugged, staying quiet for a few minutes as she began watching the television.
“Why are you here?” Talia suddenly asked sharply.
The question earned a slow sigh from the hospital-guest. It was a question she had been grappling with the moment she had finished calling Malcolm back in Frankfurt. She had travelled the hour and a half back to Oberwesel thinking it, changed her clothes thinking it, gotten back into her car thinking it and, up until she had walked through the door into this room, she had been thinking the same question over and over again.
“I don’t have an answer for that.” She said. “Wish I did, cause I’ve been thinking about it all day. “I mean, if the roles were reversed-“
“Exactly.” Was all Talia would say.
“Yeah…” Selena muttered. “Exactly…”
“Thing is…” she continued. “Despite everything, I’ve hated that Malcolm forced you to stay here. And I hated the idea of you being without anyone…now, for the holidays.”
The confession was slow and Selena was sure Talia would interrupt by laughing in her face or mocking her in some way. However, the lawyer remained silent, keeping her eyes anywhere but on Selena.
“I don’t know.” Selena shrugged. “Maybe it’s because, despite her being in prison, I can see Deanna today – made me feel sorry-“
“I don’t need your pity.”
“Whatever.” Selena sighed. “Call it whatever you want. But I think it’s unfair to you.”
“Life is unfair.” Talia lifted her arm, showing the IV needle ‘plugged’ into it. “Case in point.”
The two were silent once more, the only sound coming from the television and the occasional nurse walking by. Selena continued to watch the Christmas special until the moment where Ralphie was playing with his toy-rifle in the yard, Christmas having concluded for the storied family.
“You know…” Selena tried. “As a kid, I used to think that Ralphie ‘shot his eye out’ because of the recoil from the gun. Like he wasn’t holding it right? But apparently, it was the BB ricocheting back at him…”
Silence was the response, except for the special playing.
“Just…outlooks change when you grow up, right?” she tried again and got nowhere. Releasing a sigh, Selena lowered her head a little and biting her lower lip between her teeth.
“I mean, it’s funny.” She slowly started once more. “When we were kids, you use to talk about wanting nothing but to travel the world and leave Nome. In some way, I sort of became the same way after my father disappeared. Now?” she was unable to stop the ironic chuckle that escaped her. “There are days where I miss it and have to go back to it… and you’re trying like hell just to get back there…”
She turned her head back to her childhood friend-turned enemy, and when Talia ignored her again, Selena could only shake her head sadly before pushing herself up to her feet. “We’ll figure it out, Talia. To get Deanna out and to get you home, okay? Don’t go trying to kill yourself just to try and make that happen because you think you’re alone…”
Slowly, Selena lifted her hand, revealing the small, green bag she had been holding the whole time placing it on the small table beside Talia’s bed. She saw Talia’s eyes catch the movement and, temporarily, shift to the bag before concentrating on the wall again.
“Merry Christmas.” Selena wished before walking away from Talia, heading towards the door.
“Wait.” the sudden voice caught her by surprise, though she turned around slowly to face Talia again.
Caught, and perhaps a little embarrassed, Talia’s gaze shifted between the retreating woman and upraised television, just as it was about to play “A Christmas Story” once again. “Change that channel, will ya?” she asked lamely.
She didn’t see the small smile that came to Selena’s lips as the platinum-blonde walked the few steps needed to reach up and press one of the buttons on the TV. The screen flickered as Selena went through the channels before it settled on the Hallmark Channel. “Good?” she offered Talia.
“Yeah.” Talia said dismissively, focusing on the new special on the television. Taking that as her cue to leave, Selena resumed her exit and was out of the hospital seconds later. Had she of turned back, however, she would have, eventually noticed Talia digging into the bag to try the Candy-Cane Pinwheel cookies that were inside…
______________________________________
The camera fades from the graphic to a shot of the exterior of the Scotiabank Place, a flurry of snow falling amongst the night air. The camera slowly approaches the arena before fading to an interior shot of the arena, specifically where the SCW wrestling ring is set up for tonight’s End of the Year event, the final event of 2020 for Supreme Championship Wrestling. The space is empty, common setting for this SCW promo-segment, and familiar arctic-blue and white lights cast their illumination onto the ring, where the Snow Queen stands in the middle, simply taking the scene in.
For every beginning, there comes an end… her voice, though a whisper, is easily picked up by the camera that focuses on her. Title reigns, careers, life itself… she shrugs. Has to end eventually.
And here… it’s almost beautiful, in a sense. Because I’ve seen some amazing beginnings here.
Reaching out, a pale hand caresses the nearby rope. It was at this event that I first came to SCW…
The shot fizzles and changes to a flashback of a younger Selena seven years ago, making her way down the ring, the voice of Sharper and Knots are heard.
The Snow Queen, Selena Frost making her in-ring debut here tonight. A rookie in most cases, but knows how to handle herself.
Yeah, but can she handle herself with so many people in this ring. This isn’t just a matter of beating someone down. This is about surviving.
The flashback fades back to Selena, her eyes out towards the empty seats surrounding her. It was here at this event that I did what I never believed I could…
Again, the video changes to a more recent End of the Year event, showing Selena Frost nailing Alexis Quinne in the head with her “Defying Gravity” kick before pinning her for the three count, the official eventually handing her the SCW World Championship as Sharper is heard once more.
Selena Frost with a banner year. Shot of Adrenaline, Best of the Best, Female of the Year…and now World Champion. Selena Frost enters 2017 on top!
Selena is seen embracing her wife and children at ringside at the event before the replay fades back to present Selena standing in the ring, leaning over the ropes.
I got married this time of year. Gave birth to my first daughter this time of year. So many of my most precious memories, as a wrestler, as a person, are tied up here around this time and this event. And they all have reminded me of one thing, it’s this: No matter how strong my opponent. No matter how large an obstacle is. No matter how improbable the odds are against me, in SCW, in life, no one – except me – controls my fate. No one controls my story. My life.
Taking a deep breath and wringing the rope with her hands, Selena shakes her head, her iconic braid shifting a little against her leather jacket.
So you will forgive me, Xander Valentine, if I don’t believe the hypocritical bullshit you’re trying to spew in an attempt to do just that!
I mean, I expected you to be arrogant, Xander. Truly. Because what kind of mind, even with the stakes so against Regan and I, agrees to a handicap match against two of the most powerful women in SCW? What kind of man preaches utter domination when he can barely handle one of us at a time?
Selena scoffs. An arrogant jackass, that’s who. And I expected that, Xander. I expected you to be so when you came forward. But – to quote you – somehow, I expected more. No… I’m sorry, that’s not right. Let me rephrase:
From the supposed “honest man”? I expected at least an ounce of honesty.
Turning, the Snow Queen paces a little within the ring, the camera following her.
What was it you said, Xander? That you’re the only ‘honest’ man? That right? That, unlike Regan and I, you don’t use hyperboles and superlatives to paint yourself in a better light?
Yet you say you’re ‘cast off as a pariah’? You’re the ‘scapegoat’? You’re ‘the victim’? Selena shakes her head. Oh no, that’s not it. You’re a ‘force of nature’! You’re ‘The Executioner’, right? You’re ‘death itself’! her tone of mockery turns into something colder.
You’re the man that claimed he would ‘forever freeze me in place’, remember? You’re the man that claimed that he would wrap me in darkness to which I would never be able to emerge from. Her eyes narrowed. You tried to label me as a mere ‘shadow of SCW’.
So please, tell us more about how ‘honest’ you are! Tell us all how you don’t need such exaggerations before you blast off in the same promo about how you’re ‘The Executioner’ and we are ‘the condemned’!
The Snow Queen shrugs. Or are you just full of shit, Xander? Are you just spewing whatever poetic rhetoric you can come up with because, deep down, you’re just talking out your ass? Saying whatever you can to keep the fascade of ‘untouchable’ alive in your head?
Because while we’re on the subject of ‘honesty’ and ‘honour’, are those really the right words for you? I mean, what kind of honour is there that you can attack an old man? Or attack defenseless fans? What kind of honour do you possess that you need to go after a manager? Or better yet, how about we talk about honesty in relation to the word you threw around Regan and I: Respect.
Again, Selena raises her arms and drops them back at her sides. How bout it, Xander? Want to bring that in? You say you respect us but then do all you’ve done to this point? To me, my family, to Regan, Regan’s family?
Selena shakes her head. Honesty? Respect? Honour? Come on, Xander. Let’s REALLY be honest here. You don’t give a damn about those words. You’re just a hypocrite, lying and tossing words around to control the narrative.
Because face it, Xander, that’s ALL you’ve been trying to do from the get go! In the beginning? When you came back? The supposed man that ‘doesn’t need to remind people who he is’? That’s all this has been about to you! Trying to get your damned ‘throne’ back. Trying to get people to ‘fear’ you again like they did fifteen years ago.
You had the chance to start anew, Xander. Be something new, but you didn’t because deep down, Xander: You WANT to be the monster. You WANT to be seen as the Boogeyman! And it pissed you off that no one saw you as that when you came back for the umpteenth time. It pissed you off that you were nothing more than a hired goon. A thug for hire!
The platinum-blonde bites her lower lip, her frustration apparent. Xander… We didn’t make you a ‘monster’. We didn’t ‘vilify’ you. You CHOSE that direction when you came back. You CHOSE that journey for your story to take. You only blame us because it gives you a sense of justification to hide behind, doesn’t it? Make it everyone else’s fault and you can’t be held accountable, right? You’re just ‘a man standing up for himself who may SNAP’, right?
Well, what about us? Selena stands in the middle of the ring. What about the people you hurt? What about the people you tried to remove from SCW? What about the people you took things from? What happens when they ‘snap’?
I’ll tell you what happens, Xander. They fight back. They attack. They throw their concerns and ‘fears’ out the damn window. They don’t give a damn about being a ‘hero’ or a ‘monster slayer’ and they just go for the source of your twisted BS. she holds up a finger, slicing it gently against her neck. The throat.
A clip of Regan Street locking Xander in a side-headlock is played in an instant over top of Selena before returning back.
The mouth.
Another clip is shown just as quickly, this of Selena, herself, nailing Xander Valentine in the head and jaw with her ‘Defying Gravity’ kick.
And they don’t stop, Xander. They don’t stop just because you try and crawl away. They don’t stop because you’ve ‘had enough’. They don’t stop, Xander, until you have paid for every slight. Every attack. Every vile thing you have done.
Selena slows, taking a deep breath or two.
For so long now, you have tried to control not only the narrative of yourself but Regan and mine as well…
You’ve tried hurting our loved ones.
You’ve tried to put us on the shelf.
You’ve tried to diminish who we are and what we have done in this company.
And you’ve tried to make us nothing more than ants under your boot. Creatures that need you to feel empowered or relevant or important.
You’re wrong, Xander.
A slow, deep breath comes from the Snow Queen as she stands defiantly in the ring.
We do not need you.
I’ve seen Regan and I do great things. On our own and together. You said it yourself – what we can do eclipses all you’ve done, even single-handedly. We’ve defied expectations that you have never had to deal with. We’ve overcome odds that you can’t even comprehend. And despite every attack from you, every trick, every nefarious act you’ve thrown at us, we’ve still managed to get back to our feet and keep wrestling!
How many times did you quit SCW when the going got tough, Xander? How many times did you run away in the last fifteen years when you weren’t instantly heralded as some ‘force of nature’?
Year after year, obstacle after obstacle, Regan and I have survived and overcome everything and everyone that sought to separate us from SCW! Not because we never wanted to ‘call it a day’. Not because we never ‘had doubts’, but because we love this place and we love the SCW Universe!
She points to the ring apron, her words echoing within the space.
So, who is truly the ‘lesser’ of us, Xander, huh? We don’t you need you, Xander! It’s YOU that needs US! It’s YOU that needs SCW!
Look at you, Xander. The only man with clauses upon clauses stitched into his contract. A leash by Sasha D.. And you obey, because without Regan and I to fight you? Without others to defy you? Without SCW to allow you to do what you love to truly do? You’re not a monster. You’re not a martyr. You’re not a pariah, like you claim. You’re not even a champion.
You’re just a bitter, disturbed man. To cowardly to be anything more. To afraid to truly be honest with himself.
The platinum-blonde’s voice is quiet as she lets her words settle.
Regan and I have defied you every step of the way. We have overcome everything you’ve thrown at us together – and tonight, we are going to defy you once more… We are going to overcome you once more!
Not just as wrestlers.
Not just as a tag-team.
Not just as sisters.
But as a family.
Reaching up, Selena tucks her braid behind her shoulder. Because whether you are a ‘monster’, a ‘pariah’, or just the cowardly man I see you as, Xander – you can’t break what she and I have. You can’t kill it. You can’t stop it. You can’t silence it. You can’t deny it…
And tonight… you won’t be able to end it either.
Tonight, Frozen Hell will decide its fate and control the narrative of its story! And that story will not end because of you, Xander. I swear it. You will not be our ending tonight… sapphire eyes narrow. You will simply be a footnote.
Believe it, Xander. And have a happy new year…
The camera fades to black on Selena, standing defiantly in the ring…
![[Image: hffOaUZ.png]](https://i.imgur.com/hffOaUZ.png)
SCW Supreme Champion
6x SCW World Champion
4x SCW World Tag-Team Champion
2x SCW United States Champion
3x SCW Adrenaline Champion
SCW Television Champion
Longest Reigning SCW World Champion (234 days)
Winner of Shot of Adrenaline Tournament (2016)
Winner of Best of the Best Tournament (2016)
Winner of Trios Tournament (2018)
Winner of U.S. Championship Tournament (2020)
Winner of World Championship Tournament (2023)
Winner of Tactical Warfare (2014, 2019)
Winner of Elimination Chamber (2015)
Winner of Roofed Cage Match (2019)
Winner of Last Person Standing Match (2019)
The Unbelievable Main Event (2021-2023)
Winner of Double Jeopardy Match (2022)
Winner of EOTY Invitational (2023)
Winner of EOTY Invitational (2023)
Female Wrestler of the Year (2016, 2021, 2022)
Tag-Team of the Year (2020 - w/ Regan Street)
Match of the Year (2018, 2019, 2021, 2023)
Feud of the Year (2014, 2019)
![[Image: 34zetxl.png]](https://i.ibb.co/SnpvD5T/34zetxl.png)