Selena Frost vs. Giovanni Aries

[Konrad Raab]

2 RP Limit for singles 

3500 word max per RP 

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Wednesday, November 24, 2021

[Giovanni Aries]

Wonderland Of Salvation - Ch. 1 The Prelude

[SnowQueenSCW]

Project: Black Ice

”What Dreams May Come Must Give Us Pause…”

The wind howls around her and through her, whipping up snow like cold nails. The sound of snow crunching fills her ears. 

She can’t see far beyond the few feet in front of her. The blizzard is too thick. The storm is too strong. Even for her – ‘the woman that never gave in’.

She doesn’t feel the cold. She doesn’t feel the exhaustion in her legs. She feels nothing…

Looking down, her eyes take in the woman she carries in her arms as she walks through the snow-storm. The smaller woman – her hair is still fire-red, even though her skin is pale and has long lost the heat that it once provided. 

‘Just keep going…’ the mind of the carrier declares. ‘Keep walking’. 

She doesn’t know how long she’s been carrying this woman – how long she and her dead companion have walked… but she keeps walking, taking one step at a time… 

Until her eyes can see beyond the storm, the cave she had visited only twice in her life – once with her father and the other on her own… she doesn’t know how she recognized it so quickly, but she does. But it is still so far away. 

The wind blows her back, causing her to stumble back. What was she thinking, wearing merely street clothes to the arctic island? And why does she not care? What is she looking for?

A loud snapping sound fills her ears as she tries to step. Suddenly, she is falling into the snow. Again, she feels no cold, no pain – only a numbness at how alone she is – the miserable Snow Queen once more…

Pulling herself up, her platinum hair whips around her as she looks to her side, to see her left leg has snapped off like a piece of peanut-brittle, the detached part in the snow. The cold is merciless around her, her sapphire eyes starring down to see it etching, like ice, over her beloved’s peaceful face and her own bare hands. She can feel it now, feeling it creeping up her stump of a leg, up her spine, the cold claiming her – hadn’t she always truly belonged to the snow and the cold?

A loud cackle rolls from within and around the cave, something beyond the wind. With her last bit of strength, she turns her head to see two large eyes staring down at her. 

Eyes of evil.
Eyes of death.
Eyes of malice and delight at the sight of her.

Are they Killjoy’s eyes? Malcolm’s? The Frostmere’s Evangeline and Brachiss? Her step-mother’s?

She wants to scream – to demand to know why – but her strength is going. The ice has crawled up and claimed her vocal cords and her neck. She feels it crawling up to her face. 

“Sleep…” declare the eyes, the dark, deep voice . “Along with the rest of them…”

With all her strength, she pulls at her neck muscles, trying to lower her head to gaze at her beloved once more. She hears that familiar ‘snap’ and ‘crack’, this time closer to her ears.

‘I’m going to die’.

It’s a quiet thought – not one of panic, but one of sadness and regret – the only happy thought she has as she feels the snow continue to fall on her, burying her, is that she will be with her beloved again soon… if there is any god in this world…

It’s her last thought as oblivion takes her…

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

Frost Home
Manhattan, New York
October 29th, 2021

Selena’s eyes slammed shut as she breathed in deeply, trying to slow her rapidly beating heart. Her mind slammed on the ‘brakes’, pushing the memory of the nightmare to the back of her mind. Her hand gripped the metal of the ladder – having dug it out of the basement to reach the medium-sized chandelier light that hung from the ceiling of the family room. 

Conceal…Don’t feel… her mind whispered, trying to further push the images of the snow, the cold, and her lover dead in her arms to the recesses of her mind. 

The nightmares had begun after her last confrontation with Malcolm Scythe. The mayor – former mayor, Selena corrected – had practically begged Selena and Deanna to let him see his grandchildren Elsianna and David, sending his daughter-in-law, Talia, to Manhattan to collect them.

Instead, Selena and Deanna had travelled to Nome to confront the old man. The sight of him so run down, his age truly on display for the Snow Queen, still haunted her waking mind – her sleeping one, on the other hand, was currently attacked every night with the same nightmare.

Slowly, carefully, Selena tugged at the lingering images she still had from last night’s version. Little details were prone to change, but the vision always remained, essentially, the same. Her walking down towards the cave of Devon Island… where she was born… and never making it, dying in the snow and ice with her wife, her beloved Deanna, dead in her arms.

And those eyes…

She still wasn’t sure what they meant, but she was sick of waking up gasping for air and feeling her heart ready to jump out of her chest. She was sick of needing to turn and wake up Deanna every night just by reaching out in desperation to hold her close. She never meant to wake up her beloved, but her fear-induced panic always took control a few seconds before reality would set in.

And reality was something she wished she had a better grasp on.

The reality was that she still didn’t know how to deal with Malcolm or Killjoy. The realty that she was going to have to deal with Syren, Cannon, Cid and Asher in the ring very soon, not as a competitor for the world title, but as an official – refereeing the world title match at Under Attack. The reality was that she was torn about almost every aspect of her current position.

On one hand, she was, essentially, being removed from the world title match as a competitor. And with her record this season being leaps and bounds ahead of Syren and Chris Cannon in terms of wins and losses – the idea that she was going to have to wait to get her rematch with Cid Turner frustrated her.

On the other hand… this was the chance she had, unknowingly, wanted ever since she had lost the title at Apocalypse! While she had provided “The Unbelievable Main Event” during her last reign as World Champion, it was debatable whether or not she had accomplished her mission of ‘changing the landscape’ regarding the World title. Sharper and Knots had thought so - her title reign had reduced the ‘Co-World title’ nonsense for a good third of the year... But beyond those two things, she had not really dominated the world title like she had wished to. True, she had done better than her first two reigns, but the Snow Queen had wanted to do so much more for SCW and for the World title.

The state of SCW’s greatest championship was still in a sorry state. Three months with her could not erase the time it had been ‘shared’ between Cid Turner and Asher Hayes, or the BS that had screwed Chris Cannon out of the title, or the months it had spent in the hands of Bree Lancaster and Sienna Swann and Syren…

But she could still make such a difference at Under Attack! She and Deanna – her beloved – could work together to make sure the best person possible, be it Cannon, Syren, or even Cid or Asher, would be World Champion. And not just for her!

Had Xander not wanted to face the World Champion?
What about whoever won the Trios Tournament?
And then there were so many top contenders like Glory Braddock and members of the Jackals.
Didn’t they all deserve to face the undoubtable World Champion?

She could ensure whoever was next would face the absolute best wrestler between Cid, Syren and Cannon and Asher! No Co-World Champion nothing! They would face the TRUE world champion. Undisputed. In a way, perhaps this was better than simply being a fifth member in a fatal-fourway. Better for the world title and better for SCW…

“Hey!” 

The voice calling from below caused her to jump a little, her free hand tightening its hold on the metal rung of the ladder she still stood on. “Plan on building a nest up there or something?” 

Playfully, Selena stuck out her tongue towards the redhead that stood at the bottom. Unlike Selena, who wore a green sweater that was two sizes two large for her but was adorably comfy, and jeans, Deanna wore a simple, long-sleeve, dark blue shirt with black leggings. The fall was at its end, or near it, and the winter had already whispered its arrival with light wisps of snow littering parts of the ground throughout Manhattan.

That wasn’t enough to stop the Frost family from celebrating Halloween, their first since Deanna’s freedom from Frankfurt prison. 

“Maybe I’m just getting some practice in.” Selena smirked. “In case I ever get a chance to be in a ladder match!”. A tired smile graced the Snow Queen’s features. Eight years, she told herself, and she had never been in a ladder match. Why that was so important to her, she had no idea. There were dozens of ‘specialty matches’ she had never been in: Clockwork Orange (Whatever that was, she had only heard the name), Hangman Horror Match (barbaric and only meant for the most savage of feuds), even the more recent Under the Big Top Match. For some reason, a ladder match intrigued her. Was it the unknown? She wasn’t sure, but it was a welcome distraction to her mind as she used her free hand to begin hanging the Halloween decorations, a few generic ‘ghosts’, on the chandler rungs.

“Is it any different than all those chamber matches and street fights? Or that scaffold match-“

Deanna stopped herself from continuing as she gazed at her wife above her, Selena’s hands having stopped from their decorating. Selena had lost many matches in her career, but few had scared Deanna as much as having to watch her wife fall off the scaffold…fall so many feet. Her heart still stopped at the thought – few images in her mind able to have such a fearful effect on her.

The scaffold match that had seen Selena lose the United States Championship back in May 2019 – losing it to Giovanni Aries with help from Xander Valentine distracting Selena by attacking the “Believe It” tour bus, going after Deanna at the time with a sledgehammer. Sadly, ‘revenge’ had not been possible for Selena, as she had been whisked away into her very brutal feud with Xander Valentine, and with Giovanni Aries coming and going in and out of SCW for the next two years until he had, ultimately, gotten suspended, Deanna knew that her wife still thought about that match.

“If you’re thinking about blaming yourself.” Selena called from above, once more back to her task of decorating. “Don’t.” she ordered sternly. “It happened, and I bounced back.”

It was true. Giovanni had declared Selena dead and gone after that scaffold match – destroyed by his own hand – only for Selena to come back the very next week. Not only that, while Giovanni had struggled for the next two years, his ‘Wonderland’ unable to stop ‘The Lizard King’ or gain much ‘footing’ in SCW compared to such stables as Infamous and the Beauty Network, Selena had thrived, regaining the United States Championship through a tournament and even becoming World Champion for a third time – which was part of her current predicament.

“And what does it matter?” Selena laughed. “Gio’s gone for who knows how long. Good riddance.”
“I hope he never comes back.” Deanna said under her breath.

It was something that Selena couldn’t, one-hundred-percent share. With Giovanni effectively ‘suspending himself’ by piledriving Mr. D., SCW had, essentially been free of the Wonderland for several months. It was a punishment that fit the crime in many regards, though Selena would have preferred something far worse for what Giovanni had done to poor Mr. D.. Even so, Giovanni suspended meant that she could not avenge Mr. D.. She could not avenge herself for that loss on the scaffold years ago. No…Giovanni Aries, much like Sienna Swann and Owen Cruze, were gone and out of SCW – leaving them with the ‘last word’ of sorts over Selena. Such losses was just part of SCW and something the Snow Queen had to live with.

“Hey…” she heard Deanna ask, causing her to turn her head towards her wife as she adjusted the last ghost to the chandelier, the lighting fixture now looking like ghosts were flying around it. “You think things would have been different if I was…” 

The redhead shied away before she could finish, turning her head to look at the floor, her eyes on the tiles. She seemed to be mentally putting her words together, trying her best to find the best choice of them to convey what she was thinking. “You think things would have been different if I was with you? And also…you know, what I am now?”

She gazed up earnestly at her partner, emerald eyes meeting sapphire eyes until Selena turned away, seeming to regard the question in her head for a few seconds… Until she saw Selena let go of the ladder and fall backwards! 

The redhead didn’t have time to yell as she quickly, on instinct alone, braced herself and held her arms out, catching her wife in her arms, keeping Selena close to her chest to use her whole body-strength to stop her wife’s short descent.

For Selena, the Snow Queen had felt so free in her second or two of free falling. She felt no panic or unease in letting go. She had no reason to be afraid. Even her body did not register any anxiety. She trusted her wife, a feeling that was proven as she felt herself caught and held in place. 

Opening her eyes, she turned her gaze towards Deanna, who stared down at her, her face changing from panic to admonishment.

“My hero.” Selena smiled playfully, leaning up to kiss her wife on the cheek. For a second, though, her mind flashed back to that nightmare where their roles had been reversed. She felt the pang of anxiety at the image surging forward, but her wife’s words drove them back.

“Was that really necessary?” Deanna asked. For a moment, Selena was not able to answer as she fought the nightmare’s memories. It wasn’t until she had that she, not for the first time, been stunned at her wife’s improved strength. How hard was Deanna pushing herself in the gym when Selena wasn’t there? How far was Deanna going to prove that she was not just a capable manager but an improving protector and fellow fighter in the pursuit of their dream for SCW?

Despite her height and build, Selena felt so light in her wife’s arm. Not as much as being tossed around by men like Xander Valentine and Matt Auclair, per say, but she could not deny how safe she felt in her wife’s strong arms. And what else it made her feel…

“No…” she whispered as she felt Deanna place her back on her feet. “And neither is this.”

Without thinking, she had pulled Deanna into her, meeting her with a hungry, passionate kiss. Her right hand cupped the back of Deanna’s neck, pulling her even closer. Deanna’s shock was for a mere moment before those strong arms were wrapped around Selena’s waist. Despite her being the taller of the two women, Selena could not stop the thrill that shot through her being. She wanted Deanna to pick her up again, wanted her wife to carry her – What in Odin’s name is wrong with me? the rational part of her brain asked herself as her left leg lifted to wrap around Deanna’s waist, creating an awkward balance for Selena until she felt Deanna grab the leg and lift her up, freeing the other leg to follow the first. Oh gods… Selena could not stop the moan that escaped her as she remained wrapped around her beloved, even as Deanna’s muscles shook at the strain of lifting the slightly heavier woman. The two half-stumbled, still entwined in their kiss, until Selena was up against the wall, Deanna pinning her for support. For several minutes, the two simply stayed that way, locked in one another until breathing became too difficult.

Gasping a little, Selena felt Deanna slowly return her to her feet. “Well…” she said in-between breaths. “I did not expect to feel that…or like it so much…”
“What?” Deanna asked, a surprised smirk on her reddened face.
“Being manhandled by you.”
“Oh….” The redhead raised an eyebrow. “You liked that?”
“When it’s you….” Selena nodded with a surprised huff and a wide grin. “Oh yeah…wow.”
“Then…maybe it’s best that I wasn’t there that night.” Deanna scratched the back of her hand with her hand. “Might have made the show inappropriate for the kids.”

The laugh escaped Selena. “I don’t…” she shook her head. “I don’t think that you would have been able to stop me when I was falling ten or more feet.” With her hands, she adjusted her clothes and hair. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to either.”

“I know.” Deanna smiled. “It’s just something I think about. You with Gio. You with Xander. You and Regan – well, that’s less now, obviously. You and Cid…” she gave a shrug. “I think about all the things that could have been different if I had started being more involved like I am now… but back then.”

The Snow Queen gave a tilt of her head, a smile forming on her lips. “How many times have we talked about ‘what-ifs’, Deanna?” She shook her head a little. She was as guilty of it as her wife was being. How many times had she thought back on the past, wishing she could change aspects of it? How many times had she wished she had done more than ‘wait’ for the SCW management to say she was next in a line for a title shot? How many times had she wished she could have had ‘the last word’ on feuds and never would?

Turning her head, Selena eyed the chandelier and the ghosts that hung from above. “What-ifs of the past are like ghosts. Too many of them will just cloud our future.”

From behind, Deanna reached out to take her wife’s hand. “That was actually pretty poetic.”
“Was it?” Selena laughed. “It didn’t even rhyme.”

“Still.” The young wrestler pressed. “I think we gained the last word, really. Because where is Bree and Sienna and Gio? Gone. And we’re still here. Those people that said they would ‘erase us’ or ‘break us’ or ‘turn us’? They’re gone. And we’re still around….” She shrugged her shoulders. “That’s how we get the last word, I guess.”

“Are you hoping for that with, Cid?” 
Selena shook her head at Deanna’s question. “I’m hoping…that we…” as she spoke, she turned to face her wife, taking Deanna’s hands in hers. “That we can, in spite of him and Asher, end this damn Co-World Champion nonsense. That, whoever wins, will have earned it.”

Looking down at their hands, the redhead gave a slow nod of her head. “You know I’ll do all I can to help you.”
“I know.” Selena smiled, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to her wife’s forehead. “But now’s not the time for that.”

“Right!” Deanna exclaimed, releasing Selena to look around the house. The Frost wives had spent their time in-between SCW shows decorating the inside and outside of the house for Halloween. “Zoe and Jean will be here tomorrow.”

“I know.” Replied Selena. The small neighbourhood that surrounded the small lake, friends and neighbours and, in the case of Gerda and Kai, near family to the Frost family, would be celebrating Halloween soon as well – something both Selena and Deanna had missed for so long. 

“But…we also have to talk to them about Malcolm.” Selena sighed. “And what we’re going to do about it.”
“I know.” Deanna nodded. “You think it will go well?”
“Knowing our luck?” the Snow Queen could laughed. “Not likely.”
“Fair enough, Ms. Positive.” Deanna shrugged before tapping her wife on the arm. “Come on… I think the kids are ready to go looking for pumpkins to make Jack O’Lanterns!”

“Me too!” Selena smiled. “I got the perfect picture to carve this year.”
“Is it the pumpkin from Sleepy Hollow?” Deanna asked with a raised eyebrow. “Like every other year?”
“No…” Selena shook her head guiltily. 
“Uh-huh.” She winked at her wife before disappearing further into the room, leaving Selena to her thoughts.

What does it all mean? Selena thought quietly of her nightmares and SCW as she gazed up at the glass and gold and ghosts of the chandelier. Was her end coming? Was Killjoy coming for her? Or was it a different threat – something within SCW. Eyeing the ladder, her mind flashed back to falling into her wife’s arms – so similar to falling off the scaffold.

I survived that… she swore. I’ll survive whatever happens next… monsters and nightmares of my past be damned!

[SnowQueenSCW]

Project: Black Ice

”Inherent Risks”

The wind howling…
The storm is too strong…
She feels nothing…
‘Just keep going…’ 
The cave she had visited only twice in her life…
The miserable Snow Queen…
Hadn’t she always truly belonged to the snow and the cold?
Eyes of evil. Eyes of death. Eyes of malice and delight...
“Sleep…Along with the rest of them…”
‘I’m going to die’.
Oblivion…

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

Frost Home
Manhattan, New York
October 30th, 2021

“Selena?!” 

The voice snapped Selena out of her thoughts, causing the platinum-blonde to turn around, feeling the black material swish and swirl around her frame, unintentionally making her look-

“Oh wow…” Came Deanna’s voice as she stood in the doorway of their bedroom.
“What?” Selena asked, still a little dazed from being lost in her own thoughts. “Sorry…I was thi-“
“Thinking again.” Deanna nodded as she finished her wife’s words. “You’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

A slight blush of embarrassment crept up across Selena’s cheeks. She had no idea how long she had been standing there zonked out.

“You look good.” Smiled Deanna as she leaned against the door, throwing a paw up at her beloved, along with a playful “Meow!”. 
“You think so?” Selena asked, giving another twirl in the black gown, staring at her back. “Doesn’t leave much to the imagination with the form-fitting and-“ she stared down at the material that helped define her hips and rear’s shape.

With it being Deanna’s first Halloween post-prison, Selena had insisted on her making all the decisions to celebrate the holidays, which included Halloween and the costumes therein. 

“Wait…wait…” Selena held up her hands, smiling and biting her lower-lip, possibly marring her black lipstick. “I forgot.”

Reaching onto the bed, Selena pulled off the wide, flat accessory, flicking it a little in her hands before twisting it around to place it on her head. “There.” She held her hands out, her costume complete. Deanna had chosen a simple witch outfit for Selena, which surprised the Snow Queen, thinking her wife would be more creative, until she saw Deanna’s eyes roaming up and down Selena’s body.

“You know…” she smiled out of the corner of her mouth. “If you wanted me to wear a form-fitting dress… you could have just asked.”
“Yeah…but…” Deanna shrugged. “This is more fun!”

“Which explains your…choice.” Selena raised her hand to quietly laugh at her knuckles. While her costume accentuated her curves and toned body, Deanna’s choice of costume did anything but! The redhead was covered in a black cat costume! And to be clear, this was not a ‘sexy kitty’ or ‘slutty cat’ but a genuine one, complete with a furry tummy, poofy tale and adorable, furry cat ears and paws.

“What?” Deanna asked, tilting her head and holding her paws up playfully. “I’m your black cat! Witches have black cats!”

For Selena, it was a tug of war between laughing and going ‘Awwww!’ in helpless adoration. To be honest, her wife was so damn cute! She opted for a shake of her head before walking towards her wife to cup her face and treat her with an eskimo kiss, nuzzling her nose gently against Deanna’s. “You’re cute.” She opted to remark.

“Selena! Deanna!” came the voice from downstairs. “It’s time.”

Within a second, the smiles disappeared from the two women. Carefully, Selena removed her hat from her head while Deanna removed her cat ears and shrugged out of her zip-up costume, revealing a simple red t-shirt and gray shorts underneath.

Quietly, hand-in-hand, the two women made their way out of the bedroom and down the flight of stairs. They were soon in the family room where Jean Black and Zoe Evers waited for them. Beyond them, sitting on the balcony with Gerda and her husband, Kai, were Selena and Deanna’s children, carving pumpkins into Jack O’Lanterns. For a moment, Selena regarded them, smiling a little as she watched them in their fun and play.

In truth, it was only David and Elsianna that were affected by what was going on. David was too young to really understand or care, but Elsianna… 

Selena’s eyes closed as she recalled the memory of speaking to her eldest child. The look of confusion, of surprise, followed by fear, until, to Selena’s surprise, in an act of devotion and love to her mothers, the child choosing to let her mothers’ decide for her.

It was a decision that Selena and Deanna had not been able to make without Jean and Zoe visiting them to talk about it last night, after the house was fully decorated.

“We’re sure about this?” she heard Deanna whisper beside her. 

Slowly, Selena nodded her head, her eyes jumping to Jean and Zoe as they sat at the table. The pair were there for more than advice and encouragement.

They were there to accompany the Frost family back to Nome…

With a sigh, Selena reached out towards the laptop that sat on the counter, pressing the video call button. The seconds that ticked by the chimes and tunes felt like an eternity to both women until the video clicked over and the screen showed the patient face of Talia Scythe.

“You’ve made a decision?” she asked and, despite her fear words, Selena could hear the worry in her voice. Like them, Talia had no idea what her father-in-law was up to – first with resigning as mayor of Nome and then this begging to see his grandchildren.

To answer her, Selena nodded her head. “Two weeks.” She answered. “Expect a group.”
“A group.”
“Yes.” Selena replied. “Deanna, myself, Elsianna, David, Jean and Zoe.”

The lawyer laughed a little in good humor. “Sounds more like an army.” 
“Did you expect anything less?” Selena asked. “And I am telling you, if any of us see so much as a-“
“Selena…you won’t.” Talia took a deep breath. “I need to tell you something.”

Sapphire eyes grew wide with concern. “What is it?” she asked, catching Deanna’s concern stare out of the corner of your eye.

The former enemy of the Frost family took a deep breath before she spoke. “Malcolm has also invited your family to join us.”
“What?” Deanna asked in alarm beside Selena. “The DeCarlos?”
“No.” Talia shook her head. “Jonathan and Alejandra-“

“No!” Selena shot back. “No way! I don’t know what the hell he is doing but this is not HIS game! I am not endangering my parents too!”

“Selena, I told him that!” Talia implored. “I told him you would never agree to that after what he did – what I played a part in…” there was a note of guilt in Talia’s voice that gave Selena pause. “But he… I saw him cry, Selena.” 
“He what?!” Jean laughed from behind the laptop. “Was he cutting onions or something?”
“No.” Talia shook her head. “He genuinely cried. He cried about needing you all there. About this being his only chance. He begged me to make it happen. That he would give anything – offer any assurances that no one would be harmed.”

“He could swear to give us the moon.” Selena spat. “I still wouldn’t trust him.”
Talia sighed. “I know. I know what he’s asking and I know what it’s asking of you.”

The group involved in the conversation remained silent for a moment. “But…” came Talia’s voice. “Selena, I think he’s telling the truth… I know he is. I don’t know what’s come over him and it scares the hell out of me, but whatever he is thinking, he means everything he says.”
“YOU believe him?” Selena huffed before feeling her wife’s hand slide into her own.

“I…I do.” Talia sighed. “And this could be the only chance you have to figure out about…”
“Killjoy…” Deanna whispered, squeezing Selena’s hand.

For the Snow Queen, she lifted her gaze to eye Jean and Zoe. The moment she did, she saw them both nod their heads. Casting her gaze to her children, she was filled with a worry – a panic of letting her children down, endangering their lives over a decision she was making. One last turn of the head to gaze at her wife and she was met with a nod from Deanna as well.

With a slow sigh, Selena nodded her head. “I will contact Jonathan and Alejandra and arrange it. Talia… I think you understand when I say that you had best stay out of the way when we are there. If things get sour…”
“You’ll all be armed.” Talia nodded. “I get it.”

It was a sad note to end on, but it had to be said. There was no way Selena was bringing her entire family to her most hated enemy where he could kill them all with one swoop – or Killjoy could – not without some kind of protection.

She saw the video shut off, the conversation ended. “Well…” she sighed. “I was playing on going back to Nome anyway…why not visit my almost father-in-law while we’re at it.” She tried to laugh but it sounded forced.

“It’ll be alright.” Deanna assured, squeezing her wife’s hand. “Whatever is happening, we will get some answers.”
“Deanna’s right.” Zoe offered. “And if it is just a man wishing to make amends…you won’t be haunted by refusing him.”

Jean, the more cynical individual, scoffed at that. “And if it’s a trap, we’re walking right into it.”
“I’m aware of that, Jean.” Selena sighed. “But…” 

Her mind shifted back to the image that never strayed too far. The snow, the storm, Deanna in her arms. “I have to believe in what Deanna, Talia, and Zoe have pointed out.”

Did she believe Malcolm could be saved? No. Did she wish to fully forgive him for all he had done? Not in a million years. But if she couldn’t forgive him in some way, if she couldn’t at least hear him out? After Regan, after Syren, after so many others that had threatened and harmed her family, what would that make her? 

The liar, the hypocrite, and fraud that so many people, from Vixen Cain to Xander to Autumn to Christy all the way to Giovanni Aries, Bree Lancaster, and Cid Turner had pegged her as. 

And what if he held the secret to defeating Killjoy? What if she had the chance to free her family from this threat and let it slip through her fingers?

She sighed. She was so close to having her life truly be what Killjoy wanted it to be before he killed Selena – happy. She would, as soon as Cian let her, have her rematch and regain the World Championship, maybe even defend it on the pay-per-view she started her career, and she could free her family of Killjoy… but she couldn’t do that without taking the risk. She couldn’t face Cid Turner as she was now, with so much doubt and fear on her mind.

Those eyes… Eyes she knew so well…

“We…we need to enjoy today.” She whispered, making her way over to the balcony with her wife and family in tow. “Because I think things are going to get a lot worse before they get better…” she added as she opened the balcony door, feeling the wind, more winter than fall, reach her. It wouldn’t be until she received a text later that night from a certain World Champion that she would know how right she was… 
_______________________________________________________________

The Royal Letter

Memories…

They are powerful things, aren’t they? I’ve been told many times throughout my life different ways to deal with them. How they are ‘part of the past’. Some have said to ‘let go of the past’ and others have said to ‘use it to shape your future’. Others have said not to let my past define me but let it part of who I will become.

Let go.
Use it.
Let it be part of you.

So many different directions, but one thing I’ve noticed over and over again is that the past – history - tends to repeat itself. Have I not said before that “those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”? I said those words at Apocalypse and, clearly, Cid Turner took those words to heart to regain the World title from me. 

That was something I wanted to prevent when Mr. O’Dwyer chose me to be the official referee at Under Attack. I wanted to prevent history repeating itself by ensuring that whoever won that triple threat match, whether it was Syren, Cannon or Cid, had done so in a way that ensured the integrity of the world title and of SCW. How many times have we had to live with a champion that won the title through interference? Or a champion that retained through distractions or cheating? Do I even need to bring up the Co-World Champion crap we had to put up with for most of this year?

Maybe I was wrong to not push to be added to the world title match at Under Attack, and I’m sorry to those in the SCW Universe that wanted to see me compete that night, but I don’t regret what I was charged to do. What Deanna and I ensured that night. Because this – all of this: SCW, the world title, what that title represents, it’s not JUST about me or the others. It’s about all of you. Those that watch a main-event, WANTING a main-event that’s worthy of your time, faith, investment, trust, all of it! 

So am I going to step aside from being ‘next in line for the title’ to ensure that for you? Am I going to wait for my title shot for the greater cause? You’re damn right I am because all of you, the SCW Universe, and what SCW means to you and to me easily outweighs ‘how soon can I regain the world championship’!

With that task complete, however, I can focus on what is ahead of me, and yes, I am aware that, in about two weeks, I will be getting my chance to take back the world championship from Cid Turner. I am beyond excited for that – I am chomping at the bit to fight Cid once more.

But I can’t dwell on that tonight. There is a far more dangerous challenge in my immediate future. And for those of you who wonder why I consider this more dangerous a match, well, you’ve only to look at my opponent’s resume of sorts and the history he and I have.

At Under Attack, we saw the return/reinstatement of Giovanni Aries, the man that tried to ‘conquer SCW’ with his Wonderland, tried to kill our boss by fighting him, an old, non-wrestler and piledriving him, the list is a massive one when you consider what this man has done to people and to SCW.

And, believe me, True Believers, I would love to be the avenging angel to those people. To say that this is match is for Mr. D.. To say that this match is for those that were lied to and mislead by Giovanni Aries. But then I would be lying. I’d be promising something I couldn’t possibly deliver to them – like Cid Turner continues to do.

No, Giovanni. Tonight, your first match back… it’s for me.

I won’t avenge Mr. D by piledriving you or trying to get rid of you or injure you like you have to me over and over again throughout the years. Thing is, as much as I dislike you, you’re clearly here at the allowance of SCW management and O’Dwyer. They see something in you – something you can bring to SCW… and no, it isn’t ‘salvation’ or ‘nirvana’.

Yeah, I’ve been reading your latest tweets as you harass Jordan Majors and it’s interesting. A man that proclaimed to trying to get people to ‘embrace the wonderland’ goes from that to ‘saving all from the Lizard King’s influence’, to ‘burning down the Lizard Kingdom’ to now back to ‘saving all from the Lizard King’s influence’.

Oh, I’m sorry – there is one little difference. This particular version of ‘saving’ comes at a fee of over a hundred dollars. Uh-huh.

Quick question, Gio. If someone’s already subscribed to salvation from Gleenorb, does your ‘saving’ come at a discounted price? Like a ‘Holly Adams bundle pack’ – two saviours and a free life-coaching session? Or is it like Disney + and Netflix and you just have to divide your time accordingly?

*chuckle*

You know what? I am so sick of seeing this. Wrestlers acting like gods – like they are above the SCW Universe or their fellow wrestlers. Offering something incredible and beyond supreme wrestling, high standard, and entertainment and always failing to deliver. Seriously, Gio, how did your last attempt at ‘salvation’ go?

Remember how you tried to ‘free’ Owen Cruze? Where’s he? Disgraced his family and quit SCW in anger.
What about your Wonderland followers? Cain Adams and Alice Ames? You haven’t even mentioned them since you got back. Those that believed in you. Where are they?
What about Konrad Raab? Your ‘rainbow warrior’? How did your ‘enlightenment’ and ‘salvation’ help him?!

See, you can paint your promises in a new color and a fresh coat and say ‘it’s a new Giovanni!’, but the SCW Universe is far smarter than that. They know a fraud when they see one. They know a con-artist when they see one. And you, sir, are still the same con-artist that you were when you left. 

Which suits me just fine. 

Because, as I said, I want this match. I have wanted this match for a long time. Longer than you can imagine. And I want it against the Giovanni Aries that I know. Because when I think of you – when I see your face – the match my mind goes back to… is the scaffold.

Looking up as I fell into the abyss, seeing you grinning wickedly at me as I fell.
The only thought in my head was the safety of my wife before all went to oblivion.

I hated you for that, Giovanni. That you, a man swearing to ‘save’ people would laugh at my wife’s endangerment. Would delight in trying to ‘destroy me’ as you vowed over and over again and bragged about doing later.

And, because of your shifty ways, I never got a chance to pay you back for that. I survived, I picked myself up and carried myself through SCW, letting that night be just another scar – one of the many -that marked me. 

But, oh, how much I have wanted to pay you back for that! How much I wanted to show you just how little of my soul you destroyed and how little of me you ‘owned’. Like with Xander Valentine when I silenced him at RTG and again in a Last Person Standing match, I wanted to stand defiantly in your presence and show you just how much of a fraud you truly are!

And for two long years, that was not to be. SCW and my sister came first and then, I was given the chance to become World Champion again and I took it while you chose, like so many times before, to run away and hide. But that memory – that part of my past – I have not forgotten it. I have not allowed myself to. 

And now? I need to. I need to fight you. I need to beat you down – not for the sake of SCW or for revenge from Mr. D. or Owen Cruze or Konrad or the countless others. SCW will survive whatever your plans are, as it has before. No, I have to do this because, soon, I will have to risk everything against Cid Turner…

And I won’t beat him as I am now.

When Cid fought me at Apocalypse, there was something more there. Something I did not understand fully at the time. In his eyes, in his movements, in his words, in his actions. And that has only grown since then. He says its ‘Gleenorb’. Sharper and Knots say its confidence…

I know what it really is. And, right now? I’m not ready to face that again. 

But I have to be. I have to be ready in two weeks time. I need to find something in me that will bring me to that level once again. Something in me that will make him doubt. Make him fear me. Make him realize who I truly am.

Hanging onto our past, Giovanni, will only hinder me. So tonight, I look to finish it. To find the closure I never received these long two years. I believe in Jordan Majors. I believe she will expose you and your ‘nirvana’ as Regan, myself, Mr. D. and others exposed you and your ‘Wonderland’ in the past. I believe that the SCW Universe believes in SCW and what it means more than enough to deny your ‘money-scheme’ and BS – to see right through them.

In that, SCW and Majors do not Selena Frost. For this…for tonight… for what is to happen in two weeks… I need Selena Frost.

I need the Snow Queen.
I need the Winter’s Knight.
I need the Alaskan Dragon.
I need the Face of SCW.

But what I don’t need after tonight – what I don’t want after tonight – is the ghost of our past. What I don’t need, Giovanni, is your salvation.

And neither does SCW… Truthfully? We never did.

Believe it, Giovanni. And tell Cid… he’s next.

Sincerely,
Selena Michelle Frost

[Giovanni Aries]

The Wonderland Of Salvation: A Journey To Complete Nirvana With Giovanni ‘GiGi’ Aries Infomercial #1