Konrad Raab vs. Deanna Frost

[SnowQueenSCW]

The Witches of Alden

”Ceremony”

PS 290 The Manhattan New School
Manhattan, New York
September 4th, 2022
2:43pm

Leslie Sanderson was someone that Deanna Frost just couldn’t get along with. When the redheaded Frost had moved into the quiet Manhattan neighborhood with her beloved wife, Selena, over six years ago, they had been eagerly welcomed by most of the community’s residents. Wishing to make as good of a ‘first impression’ as possible, the Frosts had arranged a small ‘spring block party’, the then-pregnant Deanna eagerly making her way around the people, introducing herself and thanking each person for coming and welcoming the Frosts to the neighborhood.

That was when she had met Leslie. The woman stood a few inches taller than Deanna, with a few more inches added thanks to the stiletto heels she always wore, putting her standing ‘height’ even above Selena’s, her brown hair was permed ‘something-fierce’ – the only way Deanna could, even presently, describe it, for it expanded like a lion’s mane around the bird-like face of the woman. Add those super-long faux-fingernails she wore that looked more like overexaggerated claws and a shrill voice that reminded the redhead of a VERY angry Zoe Sperling or Sienna Swann (like the ‘screaming and crying on camera’ kind) and the woman was quite the sight to see and hear.

Still, that was not the worst thing about the woman. If it was, Deanna would have still been trying, to this day, to win her over, at least in terms of civility and ‘being neighborly’. No, sadly, the worst thing about the woman, who was an active member in her own ‘neighborhood events’, was her ignorance. For, inevitably, every conversation she ever had with the woman would involve the same question asked by Leslie:

“When are you going to settle down and get married…”

No, there was no mistaking the question, because it was always asked the exact same way. And every time Deanna answered with the most basic reply about ‘being married’ or ‘Selena is my wife’ or anything like that, the inevitably reply always cause the wrestler to bristle angrily a little.

“I mean ‘really’ get married…”

Oh, Deanna hated hearing that. As one of the ‘avid church-goers’ in the neighborhood – zealots, if Deanna were honest with herself – Leslie was one of the few people that did not view Selena and Deanna’s marriage as legitimate, and yes, the ‘logic’ was as basic and bigoted as it sounded. For Odin’s sake, on the first day meeting them, the older woman had flippantly laughed off the idea of Selena and Deanna being wives as ‘Well… you say ‘married’ but it’s really just two women who couldn’t find love in the world playing ‘house’, but don’t worry! You’ll find it some day! I’ll help you!’

Oh gods… Deanna even remembered how Leslie, whenever Selena had been out of town for SCW shows while Deanna had stayed at home to look after the children (Before her incarceration), had visited their house to inform Deanna of several ‘lovely young men she had met’ that would be ‘perfect husband material’ for the redhead.

In short, Deanna had given up years ago on ever being on good terms with the woman or even liking her. In fact, being honest with herself, Leslie was one of the few people that Deanna found unbearably annoying and rude. Which was why, as the new SCW Underground Champion sat in the auditorium of the Manhattan public school, she cursed her luck that said woman sat directly behind her – something Deanna didn’t have to look behind her to confirm, her ears were enough to do that, hearing the shrill voice talking over the ceremony – not loud enough to disturb it but enough that she could be heard by the few people surrounding her, including Deanna.

“Oh! That’s my little Willy-bear!” Leslie exclaimed, to whom Deanna wasn’t sure, but the woman clearly had no cares about her self-preening, clapping her hands and shouting, “That’s my boy!”.

Again, Deanna felt that familiar bristle run down her spine but said nothing. She wasn’t going to chastise or disrespect anyone if no one but her had a problem with Leslie being overbearing. Instead, she gave a quiet exhale, focusing her efforts on the children that were making their way onto the auditorium’s stage, all dressed in various formal to semi-formal attires. As she did, however, she felt the shift in people sitting beside her, the people moving as a person made her way down the specific row of seats where Deanna sat. Immediately, the young woman’s head shot up, finding herself instantly relaxing at the flash of platinum-blonde that her eyes caught first before taking in the rest of the figure. 

“Sorry…” she heard Selena whisper as the older woman returned to her seat beside her wife, adjusting her dark-green t-shirt over her jeans. “Did I miss it?” 

“Not yet.” Deanna smiled, grateful to her wife’s ‘unintentionally, well-timed’ return, the younger Deanna taking Selena’s closest hand into both of hers and hearing the taller Frost breathe a sigh of relief. The ceremony for the kids going back to school in the next few days had involved every single class and had been running for the better part of two hours, forcing Selena to duck out for a ‘bathroom break’ after they had watched David’s ceremony, having a bit of time before Elsianna’s-

Deanna’s thoughts went blank as she spotted the aforementioned girl walk on stage between a taller boy and a shorter one. She wore black socks that almost reached her knees and complimented the black skirt she wore. The light-blue long-sleeve shirt was the splash of color that stood out compared to the black of her other clothes and gloves that covered her hands and forearms. “There she is!” she whispered to Selena, squeezing the woman’s hand while pointing a little with her free one – she had no desire to make such a display as Leslie was (and continuing to do so if Deanna allowed herself to hear her sitting behind the redhead).

The new third-graders of the classroom, like the first and second graders before them (the pre-K and Kindergarten classes had not done this due to the young age), stood on the stage as the principal of the school stood at the podium – both Frosts recognizing the thin-haired but pleasant face of Mr. McKenzie, who had been the principal there for years. 

“To our new third-graders…” he started brightly as he had for the previous classes, his voice full and warm as he spoke into the podium microphone. “As you begin the last half of your time here – I spoke about fathers in the previous years. For the young boys, excuse me, young men, to aspire to their fathers. Learn from them as they will from the teachers. Now, I’d like to talk about mothers.”

Despite herself, Deanna bit her lower lip in amusement, leaning to the side to whisper in Selena’s ear. “I was wondering if he was going to get to us.” She giggled. “He went on a ten-minute rant about fathers being ‘guardians and protectors of the home’ and ‘beacons of morals for the boys…’. I wasn’t sure if I should say something.”

“Did you?” Selena raised an eyebrow as she whispered her reply, amused. 
“No.” Deanna shrugged. “But boy was I tempted to!”
“Hush.” The Snow Queen smiled, pulling Deanna’s held hand up to kiss the top of it. “He’s clearly pacing himself across the grades.”

“And for the young girls – young women – in all our grades… I want to ensure you understand the importance and respect of mothers. Because as you enter into your new year, know that the doors are open to you for opportunity. Know that you will start a new adventure to be all that you can be and wish to be and it is through the love and support of not only fathers but mothers. Mothers that gave life but also, women that have strived for equality so that all of you-“ he gestured to the third-graders, who were clearly getting more bored than listening (some were staring at the ceiling, others were nodding off, others still were picking their noses- yes, Deanna was sure she saw that). “-All of you may strive here to be whatever it is you wish to be.” The principal gave a smile. “And as you go out with your certificates to your parents, know that your new adventure has just begun. Walk with love and confidence as your parents have shown you…”

Now Deanna could have listened to the rest of that speech, a basic second-half of a ‘thank-you’ to the parents of the children, but she found her mind wandering as she spied Elsianna standing patiently on stage with the other children, thankfully not picking her nose like some of the others. Moreso, the redhead spied the gloves that lined her oldest daughter’s arms, covering up the scarred flesh underneath. 

Physical scars that would never heal. Much like the scars – emerald eyes stole a glance to Selena who sat beside her, Deanna eyeing her wife’s sides that the green shirt covered – that belonged to the Snow Queen.

To say that, at this point in her life, Deanna had had her share of emotional scars and hardships would be fair. Her years in prison were at the forefront of such hardships, ranging from beatings to… Deanna slammed her eyes shut for a quick moment to dispel that particular line of thought. Still, where her scars were far more internal, she had escaped much of her trials physically unscarred. 

And it wasn’t like that had changed recently, but… absent-mindedly, her free hand (the one not hold Selena’s) reached up to trail across her eyebrow, the one that had been cut open from Kimberly Williams at Rise to Greatness.

It was the first time in her life that she had, in Selena’s world – No, she corrected herself, in THEIR world now, because she was as much an SCW superstar now as her wife was – but in all the years she had been a manager and in the near year she had been an official SCW superstar, she had never, as much as she could recall, been cut open like that. Never felt her own blood on her face. 

It was a strange sensation at the time – or rather, after the match (she had been so pumped on adrenaline fighting Kim that she had barely noticed she was bleeding until she was backstage with Selena afterwards). To look in the mirror and see her face covered with blood – her blood.

It was like falling of a bicycle for the first time. Or losing your first tooth. A sort of ‘rite of passage’ much like the one she had been watching on stage all morning and into the afternoon with Selena, their children taking part of the ceremony to welcome in the new school year. And while Elsianna and David moving up was not as big of an issue, as little had changed, her Amiliah was finally going to school in Pre-Kindergarten. Her last child was no longer going to be home all day with her and Selena…

That was how Deanna felt about seeing her own blood that night after her match with Kim. As if the world was changing – that things were different now… it was both prideful but also terrifying. Part of her didn’t want her children growing up. She had already lost two years of their lives and now all of them were in school. Part of her – which she knew was selfish, she admitted that to herself - wanted those two years back with Amiliah. Wanted those two years of watching her grow, learning to walk, learning to talk, where Deanna was her teacher… Two years she would never get back.

Again, the redhead’s eyes found the gloves Elsianna wore as the young girl stood on stage, waiting patiently for her certificate from the principal. 

Kimberly had warned her about the brutalities of this division – and for what those words were worth or meant to mean, Deanna hadn’t denied them, but had rather refused to conform to the direct message. Kim had wanted Deanna to embrace chaos and carnage because it was ‘fun’ or whatever and the redhead had refused to do that. But there had been an underlying truth to Kimberly’s words that Deanna HAD dismissed.

The notion of brutality. 

For what it was worth, Kimberly had fought Deanna relatively decently, with them travelling across FanFest, yes, but compared to the other matches Deanna had looked into and researched of the Underground division, their match had been quite tame in regards to the blood and weapons used. And that was the truth Deanna had not fully grasped. Even when Jessica Winters, last week, had hinted at it, Deanna hadn’t fully understood. 

But the idea of facing Konrad Raab… and that mace he now wielded. Yes, she was set to face the unhinged man in a regular wrestling match, which meant that she was protected by wrestling standard rules of disqualification but would Konrad even give a damn about that? After all, it wasn’t like the Underground title was on the line. Hell, Ravyn had attacked Selena last week, allegedly, to avoid the risk of Christy Matthews losing cleanly to the Snow Queen. It was no secret, people preferred DQ losses over being beaten clean – that notion of ‘integrity’ vs. ‘getting the last laugh’. 

What if Konrad turned that weapon on her? To further himself towards an Underground shot – would that be a stronger message than just wrestling her and showing his already impressive ability? Was she even the target in the man’s mind? He could easily bash her head with that mace to get to Selena – the ‘bigger fish’ in SCW (how many times had the redhead heard THAT since becoming a wrestler?). 

She wasn’t afraid of being beaten. Hell, she had been beaten by Clamydia/Beef/Joseph/Whatever and lost the Television title shortly before RTG. Humiliating losses were part of the business. But…

Once more, her eyes found Selena’s sides in their gaze. Every scar the Snow Queen had suffered… it had changed her a little. Maybe not her morals or her beliefs, but… it was like breaking a vase. You could glue the pieces back together and even fix it, but it wouldn’t ever be exactly what it once was – not entirely. Her beautiful daughter, Elisanna… it was beyond apparent how much her scars had affected/changed her. She was not the carefree, loud and go-lucky girl she once was. That innocence and kindness was gone and it pained Deanna, as much as she knew it pained Selena.

What if the Underground changed her? What if, as she faced such brutality at the hands of people like Konrad and even Kimberly, she wasn’t as strong as Selena and able to fight it? What if she gave in and changed… she had attacked Kimberly with a microphone stand out of revenge. Would Selena understand if Deanna accidentally went too far one day? Would her children understand?

Would they still love-

“De…” came Selena’s voice, breaking through her thoughts, the redhead gazing up in time to see their daughter stepping off the stage with the rest of the children, each student going to find their parents as Amiliah and David had hours ago (Gerda had been there to take them home while the Frost wives waited for Elsianna’s turn). Immediately, the two wrestlers were standing on their feet along with the other parents, making it easier for their children to find them. 

After a moment of searching, little Elsa’s eyes landed on her mothers and the child half-marched, half ran as they made their way out of the row of chairs. As soon as she was in reach, Selena wrapped a loving arm around her daughter, kissing Elsianna’s crown. “Well done, snowflake.” She said, loud enough amongst the crowd that her daughter could hear her.

“Thank you, mother.” Elsianna shrugged. “But I don’t get why I need this for starting school. Shouldn’t I get it after I finish?”
“Well…” Deanna shrugged. “I think it’s more a graduation/commencement thing.”
“What’s commencement?” 
“Means ‘start of something’.” Selena replied.
“Oh!” Elsianna nodded her head, eyeing the laminated paper that held her name printed on it. “Can we go home-“

“SO PROUD OF YOU!”

Again, that voice and Deanna felt the bristles across her skin. Okay… so maybe there WAS something scarier than Konrad Raab with a mace… Maybe…

Turning around, the Frosts spotted Leslie, clearly, overacting over her child’s accomplishment, holding Willie’s certificate as if it were a Nobel-Prize-

“Gonna become a scientist! Win a Nobel-Prize-“ came the shrill voice, declaring her son’s ‘greatness’ to anyone that was passing by. 

With a shake of her head, Deanna tried to lead Selena (who still held Elsianna) around the nearby woman quietly. However, perhaps because of the flash of their hair colors in peripheral vision, the second they were passing, Leslie’s head jerked and locked onto the Frost family. 

“Deanna! Selena!” she exclaimed. “So glad you could make the ceremony!”
“Why would we miss it, Leslie?” Selena asked with a raised eyebrow. Like Deanna, the Snow Queen held no positive feelings towards the ignorant/boarder-line delusional woman. 

“Oh, just with your busy schedules and all that – I mean you’re both working now. Which – I’ve been meaning to ask.” She eyed both women. “Who one of you plays the mommy and stays home?”

With a roll of her eyes, Selena crossed her arms over her chest. “Both Deanna and I are mothers, Leslie. I believe we’ve been over this. And as for responsibilities, we manage just fine, thank you.”

“Well, I mean…” she grumbled under her breath. “One of you, I guess – but the other’s just a step-“ her head jerked, as if an idea suddenly seized her. “Oh my god! Willie here had the best joke the other day when I was talking about you!”

“Surprise surprise.” Whispered Deanna. “You talk about us behind our backs…”

Ignoring the redhead, Leslie rambled on. “He was asking me how two women can be parents together and, of course, I had to explain how they can’t really be parents but step-parents. That one of you has to be pretending or playing or whatever-“
“Leslie.” Came Selena’s warning voice.

“Oh, relax.” Leslie dismissed Selena with a wave of her hand. “I just meant that only one of you can be the real mother. The other has to be the step-mother. And Willie – such a smart boy – said, oh it cracked me up…” she took a moment to give a laugh that sounded more fake and forced than anything else to Deanna. “He said, ‘what? Like Cinderella evil step-mother?”

The mocking laugh that came out of the woman’s mouth was beyond forced and loud. “Isn’t that funny?” she added with a laugh, eyeing Elsianna before eyeing the Frost wives and gesturing to each one. “Isn’t it? It’s the mom and the evil stepmother. The mom and the evil stepmother. The mom and the evil-“ as she moved her hand to gesture from Deanna to Selena again, the redhead’s hand flew out to grab the overly-manicured appendage, catching Leslie off-guard, the tall woman’s eyes widening in alarm as her voice dropped.

“Say it one. More. Time.” Deanna growled low in her voice, her hand firmly squeezing Leslie’s hand, the redhead watching her neighbour wince a little at the discomfort that was filling her.

“Hey…” Leslie tried. “I…it was just a joke…”
“Yeah…” Deanna’s jaw clenched. “And you’re the only person laughing. Because if I was the evil stepmother.” Deanna’s eyes glowered. “I would just break this hand right now, wouldn’t I?”

For a brief second, Leslie’s eyes flashed in a panic but before she could say or do anything, Deanna tossed the hand away, avoiding a scene from unfolding and, thus, preventing any unnecessary attention. “Come on.” She whispered, taking a deep breath before leading her family away from the annoying woman.

She immediately felt relief as she stepped outside of the school and into the parking lot. 

“I was sure you were going to slap her in the face.” Came Selena’s voice, earning a quick look of concern across Deanna’s features.

“Would you be mad at me if I did?”
“I’d have rather I did it.” Selena answered honestly. “I’m taller so I get more of a downward swing.” She teased, nudging Deanna’s shoulder with her own.
“Could I slap her?” Elsianna asked. “She was calling mom names.”

“No.” both Frost wives shook their heads. “You know what we said about you using violence.”
“But you…” the child tried.
“We’re adults.” Deanna replied. “We are old enough to understand when such exceptions exist.”

“Oh….” Elsa sighed before nodding her head in understanding. “I’ll know someday too, right?”
“Of course.” Selena assured her. “And, hopefully…” she eyed Deanna, perhaps a little knowingly. “You’ll never have to worry about using it.”

The redhead gave a nod before following Selena and their daughter to their car, the last part of Selena’s statement – unspoken – ringing in her mind.

You’ll never have to worry about using it… and thus paying for it later when you do…