Post by Kenzi Grey on Aug 19, 2017 19:17:09 GMT -5
Sidney Grey’s Journal
Mackenzie Michaela Grey, I am writing this so that one day…after I’m gone, you’ll read this and you’ll understand why I did the things that I did. Everything I have done recently is because I love you and I wanted to keep you safe. I know that I haven’t always been a good mother…or a mother at all for you. I have apologized for that a thousand times, but never to the person that it matters the most…never to you, my one and only daughter...
...at least, I'm pretty sure that you are. There was that one time I lived in Costa Rica and I was high for like two years...I swear, I don't remember anything...
Anyway, back to what I was saying. I suspect that it’s already too little, too late for me to truly repair all the damage that I have done and make her relationship good. Still…I have to try, don’t I?
August 6, 2017: Tonight, in Portland, Oregon I officially became your manager, a mere three weeks before you enter the Queen of the Ring. I don’t know if its fate or what, but ironically, I start this new chapter of my career in the same town that my in-ring career ended some years ago (I’m sure you remember since you were a passenger in the car that hit me). That’s all water under the bridge. For better or worse, I am now working for you, helping to further your career in a sport I don’t think you even belong in.
Why am I doing this Kenzi? Because I am going to do everything in my power to protect you. I can’t do that if I’m not in your life, so I agreed to the ridiculous terms that red-eyed witch you intend to marry had written into our contract to keep me from adversely influencing your career…as if I would EVER do such a thing!
…I would have done such a thing…probably...
Well, I guess I was just out maneuvered by your little albino girlfriend, but the game is far from lost. Now that I am part of your inner circle, another opportunity will present itself, and when it does, I’ll be there to take advantage of it. Until then…I want you to know that I love you and I am doing everything in my power to save you from yourself…whether you want me to or not. I may not be able to stop you from wrestling…for now…but I will stop you from marrying that little beady-eyed bridge troll, if it’s the last thing that I do before I finally cash out.
Mark my words Kenzi…you will NOT marry Sarah Lacklan…not as long as there is breath in my body!
LADIES ALL-STAR WRESTLING #67
Portland, OR
August 6, 2017
The roar of the crowd inside the Portland arena was deafening, adding to the disorientation that Kenzi felt following her elimination from the battle royal. She’d taken brutal hits from nearly all of the women in that match and now every part of her body ached. The match had been a war, and the fans had eaten it up, but now that it was over there was nothing left but to plan for the main course…The Queen of the Ring.
As Kenzi walked through the dank smelling hallways, making her way back to the locker room, rows of staffers eyed her. She had been on the roster for over two years and most of them had watched her come into the sport, green as grass, stacking up losses like cordwood her first year. They had watched at her then; some with amused and others with apologetic looks…this was different…she was different. She hadn’t won tonight, but she had taken the very first step towards achieving something greater in LAW than she had ever aspired to.
“KENZI!” She stopped as she heard the voice of LAW interviewer, Carman Diaz calling after her. The primped and well-manicured woman with flowing brunette hair trotted up to the exhausted television star, microphone in hand. “That was one heck of a performance out there tonight and you came pretty close to winning. What are your thoughts about that match and what it means heading into Las Vegas in just three short weeks?”
Kenzi’s head felt like it had been used for the world’s most brutal game of Kickball, but she steeled herself. She wiped the sweat and grime of the match from her face and pulled back her wild tangle of braids. “You want to know what I think about what that meant out there tonight?” She breathed heavily, as she answered the question. “Tonight was filled with twists and turns as foes became allies and allies turned on one another, all seeking the illusion of momentum going into The Queen of the Ring. In the end, I may not have won…but I think I made a damn good accounting of myself!”
Carmen nodded, adding, “You did! You actually outlasted three-quarters of the field tonight. You even eliminated the odds on favorite, Gabby Camacho…” Carmen couldn’t help but to take a bit of shine off of that as she added, “…a woman you have never defeated in one-on-one competition.”
In her mind, this was just more of the same. It could never be ‘great job Kenzi’ OR 'you’re going places.’ Instead, it was always ‘you surprised us by not sucking as much as we thought…but you still suck.’ She nearly exploded, but she managed to keep her emotions in check a she addressed the statement. “You know, right now everyone is looking at Stacy Jones and they are wondering if she’s the woman to beat. Well, I’m not concerned about Stacy and just as long as everyone else in the tournament is, that is just fine and dandy with me!” Kenzi’s chest heaved as she caught her breath, “Tonight, I proved my mettle in my bracket and I was the one to take out the woman that everyone hung their hats on as the odds on favorite…Gabby Camacho.” She said her name with sarcastic distain.
Carmen continued to twist the knife as she pricked her with another comment, “Taking nothing away from that sort of small victory, it was rather short lived. Gabby reentered the ring and took the opportunity to hit you with her finisher in order to ensure your elimination.” She gave Kenzi a slight shrug, “It seemed like an obvious message that she was sending to you.”
Kenzi should have been incensed by that…no doubt others would have been, but that simple act bolstered her confidence and made her path perfectly clear. To Carmen’s surprise, instead of flying off the handle, Kenzi grinned, and that smile was genuine. “Gabby just showed me her hand…she just showed me that chink in her armor that is going to send her ass to the locker room in this tournament! She cannot imagine for a moment that she could actually lose to me. It ate her up inside so badly that she had to come back in to try to find a way for it all to make sense to her…to try to put the doubt that she now feels back on me and everyone else in her bracket.”
Kenzi turned to the camera to address Gabby directly, “The cat is out of the bag Gabby…or maybe more appropriately, you just showed me and everyone else your hand is weak and you aint holding Aces anymore. After LAW 63 you thought you had put me in your rearview mirror and all you could see was the finish line, but that goal seems to be getting a bit further and further away now...isn't it Gabby?" Kenzi shrugged as she gave a coy ‘oops’ to the camera. “It’s time to face facts Gabby…number one, you aren’t unbeatable. Number two, overlooking me was a HUGE mistake. Number three, it’s time for you to come to terms with the fact that just like Mackenzie Roberts had her chance at the champ, you had yours too and the Queen of the Ring is not going to be your way to get another shot at it.” Kenzi held up three fingers and counted them down one at a time, “Count em’ Gabby…you got three weeks to get ready to take your stupid ass back to the locker room to watch the finals. One…two…three!” She left the middle finger up last. “Get past Abby Addiction, if you can, and if you do…I’ll be happy to send you to the showers early…personally!”
Carmen turned the interview to Gabby’s first round opponent. “Abby got eliminated second…” she cocked her head to the side a bit, “…is that why you are dismissing her as a threat to beat the former two-time LAW Champion?”
For the first time, Kenzi looked seriously annoyed with the interviewer. She glared at Carmen, rolled her eyes, and took a deep breath to calm herself. When she spoke again, her words were measured, “I didn’t dismiss Abby!” Kenzi made air quotes to illustrate her point, “Tonight, Abby might have gone out of the match sooner than she would have liked, but I think that just gave her that much more time to scout the field. Don’t get me wrong, she’s not gonna beat me…but there is a very real chance that she will beat Gabby…” she pointed to her head and crossed her eyes, “…now that old Sergeant Shit Mouth is realizing that telling the world you will win is different than going out there and winning.”
“So, if Abby defeats Gabby, do you think that boils down to her actually having time to scout her?” Carmen smiles, “Couldn’t the same be said about her possibly facing you?”
Kenzi folded her arms, really considering this very real possibility before she answered. She took the chance to look into the camera and speak to the other half of the qualifier that could advance to face her. “I don’t want to face you Abby…I want to face Gabby. No slight to you…but we just don’t have real beef at all. That being said, if you win that first round match…I will absolutely beat you like you stole something!” Kenzi couldn’t help the smile that crested her lips. “You will have stolen my chance to hand Gabby the biggest ‘L’ of her life and that will piss me off! You having the time to scout me won’t mean anything when you run into me one-on-one! I know you are looking to make up for lost time and I know you are looking to erase the memory of your failed first run in LAW, but Sunday the 27th isn't going to be the start of that...it is just going to be where you hit the reset button!”
Carmen stood back a bit as she asked her next question, “Where does that leave you with Katalina Star then? She’s your first round opponent and she got to scout everyone in the rumble because she wasn’t in it.” Carmen’s words had a bit of an edge to them. “She’s a former champion in this company and after seeing her performance tonight, it’s a very real chance that she will have your number at QOTR.”
Kenzi could only sigh and shrug her shoulders. She actually liked Kat, but this was business and she needed to treat it as such. “Kit Kat was a great champion in LAW…a great tag team champion. When we face off in Las Vegas, there won’t be anyone out there for her to tag. There won’t be anyone out there to make the save when she makes a mistake. There won’t be a safety net for her…there will only be me looking to put her on down and send her back to the tag team division that I helped breathe new life into.” Kenzi hated talking about Kat as if her singles career counted for nothing, but this was war. She needed to get in her shots in the hopes of getting inside the head of her friend. That was just the way the game was played.
Kenzi took the opportunity to address Kat directly, just as she had done before. "Kit Kat, I hope that you paid attention to my performance and I hope that you know that I am not going to go down Sunday after next. If you think for one single moment that I will…the match is over with and you can just stand back and watch as my hand gets raised! You are my friend...and I don't say that to curry any favor with you when we lock up. I'd be stupid to think that it would...and for my part, I hope you realize the same. I am coming into that first round match to lay your ass down and steam roll my way to the finals. Stand in my way...you WILL leave on your back...I promise you!”
An incredulous look spread across Carman’s face, it was clear that she doubted Kenzi the way that everyone except Sarah…and allegedly Amy Jo Smyth didn’t. “That’s only one side of the equation…there is a whole other bracket to deal with, assuming you can even do half of the things that you say you can. History in the QOTR has proven that…”
“Stop talking Carmen…” Kenzi held up her hand, no longer willing to entertain her rambling, “…here is what history proves…jack and shit! I can see it in your face that you are so blown that you have to stand here and talk to me instead of that EWC chick. History says that Kenzi Grey is a loser and her wins don’t count for anything…the words of YOUR boss!” She takes a breath and chuckles, “History is getting flipped on its head in Las Vegas, so it doesn’t matter to me who emerges out of the second bracket…it can be Stacy Jones, La Estrella, Kate Steele, or even the woman who will be my wife at the time, Sarah Selena Lacklan. None of that will matter because I am going to clean out my bracket on the way to the finals.” Kenzi held up her head, showing a confidence in herself that was far more evident that it ever had been before. “I’m done with doubting myself and I done with trying to please two masters! I am walking into QOTR to win…everyone else is just going there to watch me do it!”
Kenzi winked at Carmen and headed off toward the locker room, standing a lot taller than she ever had before in LAW...
Sidney Grey’s Journal
August 15, 2017: I have NO desire to see you wrestle...but even more than that, I have NO desire to see you marry that Lacklan girl! It’s not because I hate her…I don’t hate her, I rather enjoy her. She’s a vicious bitch and she is my odds on pick to win the LAW Queen of the Ring…
...sorry baby, but you are just not a fighter like her...
I don’t want to see you marry a woman…I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU MARRY A GODDAMN WOMAN!
Call me a homophobe or whatever you want to say about me. That is not natural and I am going to find a way to stop you. I know that when you read this, you may be angry at me for the way that I feel, but trust me, it is for the best! Lacklan is rich and maybe she is attractive, for a tiny albino with overly muscular legs and with creepy red eyes, but she is a woman all the same, and she is also a whore by admission and by her very nature!
…look no further than the Jacob situation…even I wouldn’t have been so low as to bring in someone I slept with to live under the same roof as my fiancé…
She’s trash…and if you need more evidence, look to the situation with her running off to New York to be with Angie Vaughn. You can blame me for putting it together and you can blame me for sticking them in the same room together. You CAN’T blame me for the lie that she told you and you CAN'T blame me for her deciding to stay there after you busted her! She could have left and came back 'home' to you...but she stayed there and did God knows what with dear sweet little Angie. I am opening your eyes to what will be another bad ending…just like you pouring your heart into the Queen of the Ring!
…plain and simple…it is just not going to end well…
I can’t stop you from going to Las Vegas to get your brains beaten out in front of millions of people on pay-per-view, but I will find a way to stop you from marrying that lying, whoring, cunt! I don’t know how since I promised you that I wouldn't disrupt the ceremony on the 26th…but I will find a way…mark my words! I am doing this for you...
LACKLANLAND
Maine
August 16, 2017
Kenzi glared at her mother, her eyes shooting hot daggers into the woman. It had only been a day since Kenzi had decided to go against her gut and allow Sidney to come to her wedding on the 26th of August, the day before the Queen of the Ring. The two of them sat in the Great Room of Lacklanland’s main manor house. It was fabulously apportioned to give the place an Old World style, though modern conveniences were sprinkled throughout. Sidney was obviously distracted by the gaudy display of wealth and affluence that was on hand, but Kenzi was over it.
She tossed her long braids back, eying her mother. “MOM!” she yelled, getting her attention. “Seriously! I’m not joking here! If you cause a scene at my wedding, I will have you thrown out on your ass! Do you hear me? There is too much going on right now for me to be distracted by you making an ass out of yourself!”
Sid held her chest in shock, leaving Kenzi to wonder if she was just playing a game. “Kenzi! I gave you my word that I wouldn’t interfere, and I won’t, but…I still don’t agree with what you’re doing. I still don’t think this is what you truly want!”
Kenzi rolled her eyes at the thought that her mother had the gall to question anything that she wanted, “You know what I want? I want Sarah to marry me on the 26th and then on the 27th I want to walk into the Queen of the ring, beat Kat and then win the very next match…and face my brand new wife in the finals! That’s what I want to do!” Kenzi stood up, her eyes blazing with determination. “That is what I WILL do and I am not going to let you or anyone else get in the way of that, do you understand?!”
Sid stood up, putting her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. She leaned in, giving her a firm shake, hoping to wake her up to the fact that she was making a huge mistake. “I understand, this is something that you think you want to do…something that you think you can do, but this is not what you were meant to do. It’s not your calling…” she paused, then added, “…on either front!”
Kenzi slapped her hand away, indignation written all over her face, “I WARNED YOU ABOUT INTERFERING! I swear to God, I will have Sarah toss you out of here on your ass and not give you one more red cent!”
Sid held up her hands, attempting to show total acceptance. “Kenzi, I gave you my word that I would not cause a scene! If you are that intent on ruining your future, then who am I to stop you?” She gave a hard sigh of pure frustration, rubbing her temples. “All I can do is be there to pick up the pieces once this thing ends like all the rest. Just like Alex Yin...just like Parker Van Peters.”
Kenzi stepped in close to her mother, her voice low and filled to the brim with the promise of a threat. “We are done with this conversation, once and for all! Sarah and I are going to be together forever, whether you like it or not! If you break your promise, I swear to you...you will regret it!” Kenzi turned and started heading for the door in a huff, leaving her mother to stew on her own.
Sid walked to the bar, speaking up to get her daughter’s attention, “Before you go…” She looked at the selection, her mouth watering. She might not have liked the fact that an albino Queen was in love with her daughter, but she did like the fact that her home was stocked with the most expensive and delicious liquors that money and influence could buy. It had been a lone bright spot for her. “…I can’t be the only one thinking how awkward it would be for you to have to face Sarah the night after your wedding! I mean, assuming that the stars aligned and she won through her bracket and everyone in yours died in a plane crash on the way to the arena.”
Kenzi spun on her heel and glared at her mother, her eyes narrowed and intense. “You don’t think I am capable of getting through Katalina, Abby, or Gabby? You think I need help to win?!” Kenzi walked over, snatching the glass from her mother’s hand. “I didn’t need help to qualify!”
Sid sighed, folding her arms as she raised a single eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. She knew how to manipulate Kenzi like no other, and she had her right where she wanted her. “I will give credit where it is due. Yes, you beat a very good wrestler to get into the Queen of the Ring…but she wasn’t at her peak. Christ! The way I heard it, she had just shat out a kid a few months ago!” She poured herself another glass when Kenzi didn’t hand back the one she had. “Trust me, having kids isn’t easy…your stuff just doesn’t bounce back after that!”
Kenzi chucked, amused that her mother would bother to mention motherhood at all seeing as how she was terrible at it, “Sounds like another great reason to be a lesbian!”
Sid rolled her eyes, ignoring what Kenzi said. “Beating Rhodes was certainly a feather in your cap, but like I said…she isn’t like the rest of the women on your dance card. You know their pedigree, I don’t have to spell it out for you.”
Kenzi’s cheeks reddened with anger as she could only stare on in disbelief at what her mother was saying. “I don’t know if you saw, but I damn near won that battle royal on the last show!”
Sid laughed, doubling over and slapping her knee. When she came back up, she was surprised to see the serious look still on Kenzi’s face. “Oh my god! You are really serious about that aren’t you?” Sid chased down her drink and poured herself another one. “You were eliminated so many times before the referee actually saw you get eliminated! Who in their right mind is going to pick you over someone like Kat…one of the longest reigning champions on LAW? Who is going to pick you to beat Abby Addiction, a 6-time champion and a Hall of Famer? Who is going to pick you to beat a woman you have never beaten…a former Marquee Champion…a former 2-time LAW Champion?” Sid chuckled, sipped her drink and added, “You think that just because Amy Jo Smyth is supposedly picking you…you stand a chance in hell against any of the three of them, let alone two on the same night?! Wake up Kenzi…you’re barely a speed bump for any of them on the way to the finals.”
Kenzi balled up her fists, angry at the very thought that her performance, no matter how underhanded, could have been so easily dismissed. “I got pass over half the field! I personally eliminated Gabby! How am I a speed bump?” She pointed a harsh finger in her mother’s face, “The reason Aims is picking me is because she knows what’s in my heart! She knows that I have it in me to go all the way!”
“I don’t even think you’re stupid enough to believe that!” Sid brushed past her and walked to the stand in front of one of the largest picture windows that either of them had ever seen. The view of Lacklanland proper was spectacular, but they would have to enjoy it later. “Amy Jo Smyth has it in for Sarah. Since Sarah stopped talking to her, she will do anything to get a rise out of her…including filling your head with nonsense so that you charge out there Sunday after next and get your stupid head knocked off! It’s a ploy Kenzi…you are falling for it, hook, line, and sinker!”
Kenzi was growing angrier as she answered, “Aims wants to face me!”
This actually tickled Sid, “She wants to beat you up in front of Sarah, assuming you find a way to get through to the finals! Amy Jo Smyth cares for one thing and one thing only…she cares for that LAW Championship!” Sid looked at Kenzi evenly, looking to drive home her point to the girl. “If she cared so much for you, do you think that she would have gone out of her way to shit all over the biggest title match of your career in a federation she had nothing to do with?” Sid didn’t give her a chance to answer, she jumped in and answered it for her. “NO! When she challenged for the title…who was her number one supporter? I think that was…you…wasn’t it? Yes! I think that’s right!” Sid shrugged, “But…she wasn’t there for you at all was she? No words of encouragement…no ‘good luck kiddo’ just a shit gif, if I’m not mistaken. Is that someone who thinks the world of your ability and your chances to win?” Sid waited for an immediate retort, but there was none. It was cruel of her to tarnish one of the last remaining ‘friends’ from the old guard she had in LAW, but it had to be done. “Amy Jo is playing games with you…and you are eating it up dear…wake up and realize who the people are who are playing games with you right now!”
This actually did wake Kenzi up as she narrowed her eyes and starred at her mother. “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Sid gave her a very earnest look, “It means that Lacklan and Smyth are one in the same…that is how they operate. They have deviant minds and they are subverting yours for their benefit. Smyth is filling your mind with nonsense so she can drive a wedge between you and Sarah, and Sarah is just using you for…for…whatever it is that you two do together! Once Smyth is done with you, she still has her title and you’re an afterthought." She shrugged. "Once Sarah is bored with you, it will be off to another ‘vacation’ with another one of her awesome new friends…maybe that pretty little goth girl who’s always giving her the goo-goo eyes…Milisandre?”
Kenzi wanted toss her out on her ass, but that wasn’t the deal. She could talk all she liked, but that wouldn’t change her mind about Sarah…maybe AJ…but not Sarah. Kenzi threw back her head and raised her head a bit higher. “Maybe you are right about AJ…and maybe you aren’t. I can’t explain why she decided to shit on me, and while I really want to believe that she wants me to win…maybe you are right, maybe it’s not for any other reason than to shit on Sarah.” She took a breath to gather her thoughts, “This is what I know…I earned my way into the QOTR when everyone said I didn’t belong there and on the 27th I am going to walk into Las Vegas and earn my way into the finals…and that is the God’s honest truth!” Kenzi turned to walk away, satisfied that she had made her point.
“You know what I still haven’t heard you say?” She didn’t look back at Kenzi, but she knew she was listening. “What you’d do when and if you got there and you found yourself across the ring from your precious Sarah…”
Kenzi didn’t answer, she put up her middle finger and continued to walk out. Sid chuckled as she tossed down her drink and let the sting of the expensive liquid fill her belly with its hot fire. Kenzi was determined to go through with wrestling in the QOTR…that was her focus, but Sid was concentrating on the long game. So long as Kenzi was focused on what the right hand was doing, she’d never notice what was going on with the left…
LACKLANLAND
Maine
August 17, 2017
Kenzi was like an enraged beast as she took to her new favorite hobby, kicking the holy hell out of poor Jacob in the confines of the Lacklanland gym. Maybe it could have been considered training, but to anyone who bore witness to it, it would have just been a mugging. Kenzi punched him when they were supposed to break clean, she stomped him savagely whenever he went down, and she bit him a time or two when he was stupid enough to put any of his cherished body parts too close to her deadly chompers. Kenzi was taking out her frustrations on the young man for reasons that were beyond his control, but that was just how the world sometimes worked.
Kenzi headbutted the man, blinding him as tears sprang to his eyes and quicker than a hiccup, she took him to the mat and locked him into a kneebar…one that looked very reminiscent of the ‘Sweet Release’ finisher that Katalina Star, her opponent in the QOTR used to great effect. Jacob tapped on the mat, but Kenzi didn’t release the hold. Jacob pounded the mat again, much harder as he yelled, “DUCHESS, PLEASE!!”
Kenzi didn't release the hold, even as the man wailed in pain until she was finally stopped by their newest houseguest, Milisandre Crowthorne. “So, like…probably not a good idea to cripple the staff…” Mili usually seemed awkward in her own skin, but this time there was a bit more actual concern on her face than there usually was. She leaned on the ring apron, “…that’s a good way to have the chef start pissing in your soup…just saying.”
After a moment, Kenzi let the man go, not because of the threat of having her soup urinated in, she knew that no one would dare to do that and risk Sarah’s wrath, it was more the embarrassment of her new friend seeing her charged up over the comments of her mother the day prior. Kenzi shoved Jacob away, sending him rolling out the opposite side of the ring and down to the floor.
“OWW! Thank…y-you Duchess…” he said as he limped away.
Milisandre slipped into the ring and sat beside Kenzi, tucking her legs underneath her and her hair behind her ear. “Is this about the Queen of the Ring? Is that why you’re trying to rip that guy’s leg off and beat him with it?”
Kenzi shook her head, still embarrassed over her actions. “It’s not the QOTR…I’ve got that…I’m ready for it. It’s my mother…it’s this wedding…it’s all the shit in between!”
Milisandre nodded, doing her best to try to be a calming influence, though that wasn’t really something that she ordinarily did. This was all new for her, having friends that had endeared themselves to her so readily…accepting her for who she was and allowing her to become a third wheel without complaint. The least she could do was try to help where she could. “I can’t help with the mother part…but I’m doing my best with the wedding planning. I mean, I know I’m not the greatest, but maybe we can just get a professional to help.”
Kenzi shook her head, doing her best to allay the girl’s fears. “NO! You’re fine Mili! You're doing a far better job than I did planning my first wedding!”
“Wut…?” she deadpanned as she stared at Kenzi. “…you were married before?”
Kenzi shook her head, “NO! Well…yes…I was married to a guy I dated…at least I think I was married to him. We were really drunk in Hooters and I guess one thing led to another.” Kenzi stopped as she realized how ridiculous that sounded now. She waved that off. “Forget that…last year I was supposed to marry my very first girlfriend…my first love; Alex Yin. I had planned out everything myself…I was going to do it right on live LAW television…but…” her voice trailed off and she shrugged. “…Alex called it off...then she broke up with me over Twitter.”
Milisandre’s eyes widened as she wondered if Kenzi was joking. The girl was a notorious jokester, but she could find no hint of a joke anywhere on her face. She reached out and put her hand on Kenzi’s shoulder. “Wow…that’s…that’s…” she paused as she searched for the right words, but there weren’t any, so she just went with what was handy, “…super freaking weird dude!”
Kenzi smiled and shrugged her shoulder. “Yeah…it was.” She sighed, thinking back to that time and how low she had been. “You know…after that night…I tried to kill myself.” Tears sprang to her eyes and she wiped them away. “I ran off and it was my mother who found me and dragged me back…she didn’t try to comfort me any anything like that, she was just overjoyed that I didn’t get married to another woman.”
Milisandre was fascinated, and also a little creeped out by the oversharing. This wasn’t what she was used to, but if this was what having friends was all about, maybe it wasn’t so bad. “How did you get over it? I mean, if your mom wasn’t there for you.”
Kenzi laughed, “A good friend and a whole lot of drinking!”
Milisandre laughed, “Now you are speaking my language!”
Kenzi shook her head. She had seen Milisandre drink like no one she had ever seen. That girl’s blood was probably at least 90 proof all on its own. “Ashley Marie Chase, one of my bridesmaids…she was there for me. She was my only friend at the time…she’s my oldest friend now.” Kenzi closed her eyes as she thought back to that time. “We drank so much! Holy shit! I don’t remember anything…and right now, I wish I could do that again!”
Milisandre looked around sheepishly, “Don’t threaten me with a good time!” She chuckled, then grew serious. “But seriously Ken, don’t let stuff with your mother get to you…not this close to your wedding. You and Sarah are good together…HELL, you guys are GREAT together!" She snickered as she looked around. "Of course, it doesn't hurt that she is super freaking rich!"
Kenzi smirked, "I'm not marrying her for her money. "I'd marry her even if she didn't have two dimes to her name." Kenzi knew that Milisandre didn't mean anything by it, but the thought had been on her mind. How long would it be before someone lambasted her for being a golddigger, which she wasn't and had never been. She made a mental note to herself to deal with that notion as soon as possible, even if Sarah disagreed.
Milisandre rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant! Hey, money aside, If your mom is too blind to see how great you are with Sarah, then that is her problem! You show her how happy you are, and if that isn’t enough for her…maybe she doesn’t deserve you.”
Kenzi nodded, letting her new friend’s words sink in. She was right, her happiness with Sarah is all that mattered. If her mother didn’t want to see her happy, then maybe her mother really didn’t deserve to be in her life. Maybe she didn’t need to listen to anything that she had to say at all. “You know what…?” she let a smile curl the corner of her lips, “…for a kid…you’re pretty cool!”
Milisandra groaned, “A Cool Kids joke...God…that was terrible!”
Kenzi smirked, “Yeah, yeah! We can't all be as hilarious as you new boyfriend, now can we?" Kenzi laughed as Milisandre covered her face and blushed as the mention of her budding romance with one of Sarah's guards. Kenzi took quick advantage of the distraction, while the element of surprise was on her side. "Race you to the liquor cabinet in the Great Room!” Kenzi rolled out of the ring and took off like a shot.
Milisandra’s mouth fell open as she looked up and found Kenzi halfway out of the gym. She got to her feet and tried to chase after her. “THIS PLACE IS HUGE!! I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE THE GREAT ROOM IS!!”
She chased after Kenzi in the hopes that she wouldn’t get lost in the enormous manor like she had been for the last several days…
Sidney Grey’s Journal
August 18, 2017: Today I saw you say the absolute stupidest thing that I think I have ever seen you say! Not only do you want to marry Sarah, but you also want to sign a prenuptial agreement?
…YOU HAVE TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME…
Let’s assume for a moment that you actually do get married…over my dead body…what do you think happens when that stupid tramp decides she is done with you for good? Do you think that she will be a kind and benevolent Queen and hand you over half her Queendom? Do you think that she will give two shits about what happens to you after she’s had her fill of being with you? The answer is a resounding NO! She will be on to the next adventure and the next ‘Beloved’ quicker than your fake marriage to Parker Van Peters!
…speaking of Parker…my favorite suitor for you…
Today we also found out that your ex-husband was dead and gone. I have to tell you, I saw the touching tribute that you did to his memory and I have to say…it’s painfully obvious to me that you still love him. A real, true, deep and lasting love…the way that nature intended it. When you read this, I hope you realize the depth of my feelings on the matter and you understand the truth behind them. You let Mr. Right get away just so you could spend time with Ms. Wrong!
I am very sad that Parker is gone…but in every dark cloud there is a silver lining. No sense in me not sharing with you that while you were busy eulogizing Parker, I was also busy looking into this ridiculous idea of a prenup that you put your attorney, Dani Chow on.
…you find the most interesting things sometimes when you dig deep enough…
You are not going to marry Sarah Lacklan, and whether you now believe that I am right or not, on the 26th of August, none of that will matter. You won’t be able to blame me for this…you will only have yourself to blame…
…I will just be there to pick up the pieces…
“So here it is, at long last the 2017 Queen of the Ring is upon us and it’s time for the last 8 competitors in the match to put up or shut up. The pre-match smack talk is in full bloom and everyone is on the edge of their seats as they look to put their stamp on things and charge into the first round of action with their fists ready to do damage to whomever is unlucky enough to be their draw. For me, that woman is a friend…Katalina Star.”
“Kit Kat is a special soul, who I am sorry and quite embarrassed to say that I neglected to get to know until very recently. I was busy stinking up the ring and jerking curtains when she was tearing up the tag team division with Katie Klein and having a record tying championship run. We really had no real reason to interact…but that is no excuse. We work for the same company and even though she was on a whole other level, I could have made the time to get to know her.”
“In spite of her connection to a wresting family that hates my guts for having the gall to not quit when someone tried their best to drive me away…I bare Kat no ill will. I no longer bare her wife or even Jamilyn Storm any ill will. I am completely over 2016, though if you listen to people like Stacy Jones, I should be fighting everyone in the Cornett clan until the end of time. I don’t have the time or inclination to do that, I live in the now…and the now is about one thing, it is about taking charge of destiny and doing the one thing that no one expects…win my way to the finals of the Queen of the Ring and immortalize my name in the annals of history as the best of the best!”
“Damn my luck all to hell, I got some of the worst luck since I am in the bracket with some of the best in the business…certainly some of the best that LAW has produced. Standing front and center in the first round is one of the greatest champions in LAW…and one of the greatest enigmas in our company. For many, they look at Kat and they see the bondage and the talk of doms and subs and they discount the fact that she is an accomplished wrestler who has been a champion in this company a lot longer than she has not. That is what I get to face in the very first round of action.”
“Anyone who follows you Kat will see that you are a sweetheart of a person. She hardly have a cross word to say about anyone and you have a kind spirit that most should be envious of. For my part, I recognize that and I love that about you…but…before we start fingerbanging each other and swapping spit in the shower, I want to make it clear that I know that you are a lot more dangerous that what you let on. Hell, like I said, you are a living legend in this company and I know that you won’t go down easy…but you will go down, I promise you!”
“I don’t say that to be arrogant or dismissive, I say that because I know who you are and I know who I mean to be. I am forging my destiny in LAW and you have already made yours. Are you hungry for more? Maybe you are, but you will NEVER be as hungry as I am! You will NEVER know what it feels like to be the underdog or the black sheep of the company. I know what it’s like and I am tired of feeling that way…I am tired of being overlooked and underappreciated when I fight as hard or harder than anyone…when I give 110% and I see others who don’t give a fraction of that doing better than me! That is why I am going to fight harder than you and that is why I am going to beat you in Las Vegas and advance to the next round and face Abby Addiction or Gabby Camacho.”
“I hope that after it is over and done that you and I can still be friends. I hope that after I take the next giant leap in this company that I can equal your accomplishments here. I intend to outdo you at the Queen of the Ring…and I intend to start etching my name into the record books right beside yours!”
“When I beat you Kit Kat, I am going to be looking to face Abby Addiction or Gabby Camacho. I made no bones about who I want to face…and who I want to beat in route to the finals. Both of you guys are the class of any division you find yourselves in, but on the 27th of this month, you will find yourselves on the losing end of an equation that neither of you will be able to solve. My want and desire times the number of people in my division who think they want to win as much as me. The answer is going to elude both of you right up until the moment one of you advance to the next round and find me there, already waiting to beat you and send you back to the locker room for a cold shower and a long night of reflection.”
“Abby, like I said after the rumble, I don’t have a problem with you, but I do have a problem with you thinking that you are going to make your big comeback here at the QOTR at my expense! I don’t know what personal problems you had that took you out of competition after you came in with some of the greatest fanfare of all time, but the fact of the matter is that I have been here and I have gone through a great many personal issues and I never left and I never gave up! I don’t intend to do that now. So, I’ll see you on Sunday the 27th if you are good enough to put down a two-time LAW Champion…which is something that I have yet to do…but if you don’t, I promise you I will!”
“Gabby, you and I have enough history to yammer endlessly over the rest of the night, but I don’t have to yammer because I am in your head, whether you admit it or not. I don’t like you and I never will! If I ever get the chance to smash your face into a million pieces I will do it without hesitation. The thought of facing you gives me butterflies in the pit of my stomach because I want to beat you so badly that I can actually taste it! For your part, you will just go with the same old tired lines about how I am not worth your time, I suck, blah, blah, blah! Maybe the fans will eat that up and maybe they will even believe it…but you know who won’t…YOU! I am the one that sent your ass to the locker room and you couldn’t even accept that fact and walk away…you had to run back in and attack me like the bully and the coward that I have always known that you were!”
“A reckoning is coming…if you really want to avoid it, let Abby beat your ass or just decide not to show up if you like…either of those things will be acceptable. I am on a mission to win out and head to the finals…but I am not above making a little detour to bury my foot so deep in your ass that you’ll have to open your mouth so I can unlace my boots!”
“What does winning my bracket get me? A do over with Stacy Jones? A dance with La Estrella? An encore with Kate Steele? A date with my soon to be wife, Sarah Selena Lacklan? If I have my choice, I’ll face Sarah in the finals and that will be that…but I’d be a damn fool to discount any of the rest of you! Stacy is riding high after her rumble win, but I think she’ll find the opposition a lot stiffer than it was last time. La Estrella also put on one hell of a performance and she could easily be right on through to the finals…waiting to reverse her fortunes from last year. Maybe Kate decides to take this match seriously and dedicates herself to meeting me one on one…”
“…maybe one of you survives the flames…but I don’t think that any of you will. I think that my wife will do what she said she would and she will puck out Kate’s teeth…one by one until she finally decides that she’s had enough and she sends her into the Abyss. After that…it will be La Estrella or Stacy who will face her wrath and get put down next. There’s no shame in it, that is just the way that it goes…”
“Then…at the end of the night, I will be looking to start my honeymoon by becoming a real life WIFE BEATER!”
“That is a joke…and not a very good one, but at the end of the night…I want nothing more than to see you standing across the ring from me…I truly do…even more than I want to face Gabby in the second round. You deserve this…you deserve to win out and get to what is essentially the medal round of this tournament. I know that will make you and your father proud…but I want you to know that I am already proud. I am proud of you as a fighter and as a person. I am proud of you as the woman who I am going to marry the night before we tear into each other for the right to be what your people already call you…a Queen…”
“…Tu es mon coeur et ma vie. La nuit avant de nous rencontrer sur le ring, je donne ma vie à vous. Dans la nuit après, je vais vous montrer mon coeur... Je t'aime…”
Mackenzie Michaela Grey, I am writing this so that one day…after I’m gone, you’ll read this and you’ll understand why I did the things that I did. Everything I have done recently is because I love you and I wanted to keep you safe. I know that I haven’t always been a good mother…or a mother at all for you. I have apologized for that a thousand times, but never to the person that it matters the most…never to you, my one and only daughter...
...at least, I'm pretty sure that you are. There was that one time I lived in Costa Rica and I was high for like two years...I swear, I don't remember anything...
Anyway, back to what I was saying. I suspect that it’s already too little, too late for me to truly repair all the damage that I have done and make her relationship good. Still…I have to try, don’t I?
August 6, 2017: Tonight, in Portland, Oregon I officially became your manager, a mere three weeks before you enter the Queen of the Ring. I don’t know if its fate or what, but ironically, I start this new chapter of my career in the same town that my in-ring career ended some years ago (I’m sure you remember since you were a passenger in the car that hit me). That’s all water under the bridge. For better or worse, I am now working for you, helping to further your career in a sport I don’t think you even belong in.
Why am I doing this Kenzi? Because I am going to do everything in my power to protect you. I can’t do that if I’m not in your life, so I agreed to the ridiculous terms that red-eyed witch you intend to marry had written into our contract to keep me from adversely influencing your career…as if I would EVER do such a thing!
…I would have done such a thing…probably...
Well, I guess I was just out maneuvered by your little albino girlfriend, but the game is far from lost. Now that I am part of your inner circle, another opportunity will present itself, and when it does, I’ll be there to take advantage of it. Until then…I want you to know that I love you and I am doing everything in my power to save you from yourself…whether you want me to or not. I may not be able to stop you from wrestling…for now…but I will stop you from marrying that little beady-eyed bridge troll, if it’s the last thing that I do before I finally cash out.
Mark my words Kenzi…you will NOT marry Sarah Lacklan…not as long as there is breath in my body!
LADIES ALL-STAR WRESTLING #67
Portland, OR
August 6, 2017
The roar of the crowd inside the Portland arena was deafening, adding to the disorientation that Kenzi felt following her elimination from the battle royal. She’d taken brutal hits from nearly all of the women in that match and now every part of her body ached. The match had been a war, and the fans had eaten it up, but now that it was over there was nothing left but to plan for the main course…The Queen of the Ring.
As Kenzi walked through the dank smelling hallways, making her way back to the locker room, rows of staffers eyed her. She had been on the roster for over two years and most of them had watched her come into the sport, green as grass, stacking up losses like cordwood her first year. They had watched at her then; some with amused and others with apologetic looks…this was different…she was different. She hadn’t won tonight, but she had taken the very first step towards achieving something greater in LAW than she had ever aspired to.
“KENZI!” She stopped as she heard the voice of LAW interviewer, Carman Diaz calling after her. The primped and well-manicured woman with flowing brunette hair trotted up to the exhausted television star, microphone in hand. “That was one heck of a performance out there tonight and you came pretty close to winning. What are your thoughts about that match and what it means heading into Las Vegas in just three short weeks?”
Kenzi’s head felt like it had been used for the world’s most brutal game of Kickball, but she steeled herself. She wiped the sweat and grime of the match from her face and pulled back her wild tangle of braids. “You want to know what I think about what that meant out there tonight?” She breathed heavily, as she answered the question. “Tonight was filled with twists and turns as foes became allies and allies turned on one another, all seeking the illusion of momentum going into The Queen of the Ring. In the end, I may not have won…but I think I made a damn good accounting of myself!”
Carmen nodded, adding, “You did! You actually outlasted three-quarters of the field tonight. You even eliminated the odds on favorite, Gabby Camacho…” Carmen couldn’t help but to take a bit of shine off of that as she added, “…a woman you have never defeated in one-on-one competition.”
In her mind, this was just more of the same. It could never be ‘great job Kenzi’ OR 'you’re going places.’ Instead, it was always ‘you surprised us by not sucking as much as we thought…but you still suck.’ She nearly exploded, but she managed to keep her emotions in check a she addressed the statement. “You know, right now everyone is looking at Stacy Jones and they are wondering if she’s the woman to beat. Well, I’m not concerned about Stacy and just as long as everyone else in the tournament is, that is just fine and dandy with me!” Kenzi’s chest heaved as she caught her breath, “Tonight, I proved my mettle in my bracket and I was the one to take out the woman that everyone hung their hats on as the odds on favorite…Gabby Camacho.” She said her name with sarcastic distain.
Carmen continued to twist the knife as she pricked her with another comment, “Taking nothing away from that sort of small victory, it was rather short lived. Gabby reentered the ring and took the opportunity to hit you with her finisher in order to ensure your elimination.” She gave Kenzi a slight shrug, “It seemed like an obvious message that she was sending to you.”
Kenzi should have been incensed by that…no doubt others would have been, but that simple act bolstered her confidence and made her path perfectly clear. To Carmen’s surprise, instead of flying off the handle, Kenzi grinned, and that smile was genuine. “Gabby just showed me her hand…she just showed me that chink in her armor that is going to send her ass to the locker room in this tournament! She cannot imagine for a moment that she could actually lose to me. It ate her up inside so badly that she had to come back in to try to find a way for it all to make sense to her…to try to put the doubt that she now feels back on me and everyone else in her bracket.”
Kenzi turned to the camera to address Gabby directly, “The cat is out of the bag Gabby…or maybe more appropriately, you just showed me and everyone else your hand is weak and you aint holding Aces anymore. After LAW 63 you thought you had put me in your rearview mirror and all you could see was the finish line, but that goal seems to be getting a bit further and further away now...isn't it Gabby?" Kenzi shrugged as she gave a coy ‘oops’ to the camera. “It’s time to face facts Gabby…number one, you aren’t unbeatable. Number two, overlooking me was a HUGE mistake. Number three, it’s time for you to come to terms with the fact that just like Mackenzie Roberts had her chance at the champ, you had yours too and the Queen of the Ring is not going to be your way to get another shot at it.” Kenzi held up three fingers and counted them down one at a time, “Count em’ Gabby…you got three weeks to get ready to take your stupid ass back to the locker room to watch the finals. One…two…three!” She left the middle finger up last. “Get past Abby Addiction, if you can, and if you do…I’ll be happy to send you to the showers early…personally!”
Carmen turned the interview to Gabby’s first round opponent. “Abby got eliminated second…” she cocked her head to the side a bit, “…is that why you are dismissing her as a threat to beat the former two-time LAW Champion?”
For the first time, Kenzi looked seriously annoyed with the interviewer. She glared at Carmen, rolled her eyes, and took a deep breath to calm herself. When she spoke again, her words were measured, “I didn’t dismiss Abby!” Kenzi made air quotes to illustrate her point, “Tonight, Abby might have gone out of the match sooner than she would have liked, but I think that just gave her that much more time to scout the field. Don’t get me wrong, she’s not gonna beat me…but there is a very real chance that she will beat Gabby…” she pointed to her head and crossed her eyes, “…now that old Sergeant Shit Mouth is realizing that telling the world you will win is different than going out there and winning.”
“So, if Abby defeats Gabby, do you think that boils down to her actually having time to scout her?” Carmen smiles, “Couldn’t the same be said about her possibly facing you?”
Kenzi folded her arms, really considering this very real possibility before she answered. She took the chance to look into the camera and speak to the other half of the qualifier that could advance to face her. “I don’t want to face you Abby…I want to face Gabby. No slight to you…but we just don’t have real beef at all. That being said, if you win that first round match…I will absolutely beat you like you stole something!” Kenzi couldn’t help the smile that crested her lips. “You will have stolen my chance to hand Gabby the biggest ‘L’ of her life and that will piss me off! You having the time to scout me won’t mean anything when you run into me one-on-one! I know you are looking to make up for lost time and I know you are looking to erase the memory of your failed first run in LAW, but Sunday the 27th isn't going to be the start of that...it is just going to be where you hit the reset button!”
Carmen stood back a bit as she asked her next question, “Where does that leave you with Katalina Star then? She’s your first round opponent and she got to scout everyone in the rumble because she wasn’t in it.” Carmen’s words had a bit of an edge to them. “She’s a former champion in this company and after seeing her performance tonight, it’s a very real chance that she will have your number at QOTR.”
Kenzi could only sigh and shrug her shoulders. She actually liked Kat, but this was business and she needed to treat it as such. “Kit Kat was a great champion in LAW…a great tag team champion. When we face off in Las Vegas, there won’t be anyone out there for her to tag. There won’t be anyone out there to make the save when she makes a mistake. There won’t be a safety net for her…there will only be me looking to put her on down and send her back to the tag team division that I helped breathe new life into.” Kenzi hated talking about Kat as if her singles career counted for nothing, but this was war. She needed to get in her shots in the hopes of getting inside the head of her friend. That was just the way the game was played.
Kenzi took the opportunity to address Kat directly, just as she had done before. "Kit Kat, I hope that you paid attention to my performance and I hope that you know that I am not going to go down Sunday after next. If you think for one single moment that I will…the match is over with and you can just stand back and watch as my hand gets raised! You are my friend...and I don't say that to curry any favor with you when we lock up. I'd be stupid to think that it would...and for my part, I hope you realize the same. I am coming into that first round match to lay your ass down and steam roll my way to the finals. Stand in my way...you WILL leave on your back...I promise you!”
An incredulous look spread across Carman’s face, it was clear that she doubted Kenzi the way that everyone except Sarah…and allegedly Amy Jo Smyth didn’t. “That’s only one side of the equation…there is a whole other bracket to deal with, assuming you can even do half of the things that you say you can. History in the QOTR has proven that…”
“Stop talking Carmen…” Kenzi held up her hand, no longer willing to entertain her rambling, “…here is what history proves…jack and shit! I can see it in your face that you are so blown that you have to stand here and talk to me instead of that EWC chick. History says that Kenzi Grey is a loser and her wins don’t count for anything…the words of YOUR boss!” She takes a breath and chuckles, “History is getting flipped on its head in Las Vegas, so it doesn’t matter to me who emerges out of the second bracket…it can be Stacy Jones, La Estrella, Kate Steele, or even the woman who will be my wife at the time, Sarah Selena Lacklan. None of that will matter because I am going to clean out my bracket on the way to the finals.” Kenzi held up her head, showing a confidence in herself that was far more evident that it ever had been before. “I’m done with doubting myself and I done with trying to please two masters! I am walking into QOTR to win…everyone else is just going there to watch me do it!”
Kenzi winked at Carmen and headed off toward the locker room, standing a lot taller than she ever had before in LAW...
Sidney Grey’s Journal
August 15, 2017: I have NO desire to see you wrestle...but even more than that, I have NO desire to see you marry that Lacklan girl! It’s not because I hate her…I don’t hate her, I rather enjoy her. She’s a vicious bitch and she is my odds on pick to win the LAW Queen of the Ring…
...sorry baby, but you are just not a fighter like her...
I don’t want to see you marry a woman…I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU MARRY A GODDAMN WOMAN!
Call me a homophobe or whatever you want to say about me. That is not natural and I am going to find a way to stop you. I know that when you read this, you may be angry at me for the way that I feel, but trust me, it is for the best! Lacklan is rich and maybe she is attractive, for a tiny albino with overly muscular legs and with creepy red eyes, but she is a woman all the same, and she is also a whore by admission and by her very nature!
…look no further than the Jacob situation…even I wouldn’t have been so low as to bring in someone I slept with to live under the same roof as my fiancé…
She’s trash…and if you need more evidence, look to the situation with her running off to New York to be with Angie Vaughn. You can blame me for putting it together and you can blame me for sticking them in the same room together. You CAN’T blame me for the lie that she told you and you CAN'T blame me for her deciding to stay there after you busted her! She could have left and came back 'home' to you...but she stayed there and did God knows what with dear sweet little Angie. I am opening your eyes to what will be another bad ending…just like you pouring your heart into the Queen of the Ring!
…plain and simple…it is just not going to end well…
I can’t stop you from going to Las Vegas to get your brains beaten out in front of millions of people on pay-per-view, but I will find a way to stop you from marrying that lying, whoring, cunt! I don’t know how since I promised you that I wouldn't disrupt the ceremony on the 26th…but I will find a way…mark my words! I am doing this for you...
LACKLANLAND
Maine
August 16, 2017
Kenzi glared at her mother, her eyes shooting hot daggers into the woman. It had only been a day since Kenzi had decided to go against her gut and allow Sidney to come to her wedding on the 26th of August, the day before the Queen of the Ring. The two of them sat in the Great Room of Lacklanland’s main manor house. It was fabulously apportioned to give the place an Old World style, though modern conveniences were sprinkled throughout. Sidney was obviously distracted by the gaudy display of wealth and affluence that was on hand, but Kenzi was over it.
She tossed her long braids back, eying her mother. “MOM!” she yelled, getting her attention. “Seriously! I’m not joking here! If you cause a scene at my wedding, I will have you thrown out on your ass! Do you hear me? There is too much going on right now for me to be distracted by you making an ass out of yourself!”
Sid held her chest in shock, leaving Kenzi to wonder if she was just playing a game. “Kenzi! I gave you my word that I wouldn’t interfere, and I won’t, but…I still don’t agree with what you’re doing. I still don’t think this is what you truly want!”
Kenzi rolled her eyes at the thought that her mother had the gall to question anything that she wanted, “You know what I want? I want Sarah to marry me on the 26th and then on the 27th I want to walk into the Queen of the ring, beat Kat and then win the very next match…and face my brand new wife in the finals! That’s what I want to do!” Kenzi stood up, her eyes blazing with determination. “That is what I WILL do and I am not going to let you or anyone else get in the way of that, do you understand?!”
Sid stood up, putting her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. She leaned in, giving her a firm shake, hoping to wake her up to the fact that she was making a huge mistake. “I understand, this is something that you think you want to do…something that you think you can do, but this is not what you were meant to do. It’s not your calling…” she paused, then added, “…on either front!”
Kenzi slapped her hand away, indignation written all over her face, “I WARNED YOU ABOUT INTERFERING! I swear to God, I will have Sarah toss you out of here on your ass and not give you one more red cent!”
Sid held up her hands, attempting to show total acceptance. “Kenzi, I gave you my word that I would not cause a scene! If you are that intent on ruining your future, then who am I to stop you?” She gave a hard sigh of pure frustration, rubbing her temples. “All I can do is be there to pick up the pieces once this thing ends like all the rest. Just like Alex Yin...just like Parker Van Peters.”
Kenzi stepped in close to her mother, her voice low and filled to the brim with the promise of a threat. “We are done with this conversation, once and for all! Sarah and I are going to be together forever, whether you like it or not! If you break your promise, I swear to you...you will regret it!” Kenzi turned and started heading for the door in a huff, leaving her mother to stew on her own.
Sid walked to the bar, speaking up to get her daughter’s attention, “Before you go…” She looked at the selection, her mouth watering. She might not have liked the fact that an albino Queen was in love with her daughter, but she did like the fact that her home was stocked with the most expensive and delicious liquors that money and influence could buy. It had been a lone bright spot for her. “…I can’t be the only one thinking how awkward it would be for you to have to face Sarah the night after your wedding! I mean, assuming that the stars aligned and she won through her bracket and everyone in yours died in a plane crash on the way to the arena.”
Kenzi spun on her heel and glared at her mother, her eyes narrowed and intense. “You don’t think I am capable of getting through Katalina, Abby, or Gabby? You think I need help to win?!” Kenzi walked over, snatching the glass from her mother’s hand. “I didn’t need help to qualify!”
Sid sighed, folding her arms as she raised a single eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. She knew how to manipulate Kenzi like no other, and she had her right where she wanted her. “I will give credit where it is due. Yes, you beat a very good wrestler to get into the Queen of the Ring…but she wasn’t at her peak. Christ! The way I heard it, she had just shat out a kid a few months ago!” She poured herself another glass when Kenzi didn’t hand back the one she had. “Trust me, having kids isn’t easy…your stuff just doesn’t bounce back after that!”
Kenzi chucked, amused that her mother would bother to mention motherhood at all seeing as how she was terrible at it, “Sounds like another great reason to be a lesbian!”
Sid rolled her eyes, ignoring what Kenzi said. “Beating Rhodes was certainly a feather in your cap, but like I said…she isn’t like the rest of the women on your dance card. You know their pedigree, I don’t have to spell it out for you.”
Kenzi’s cheeks reddened with anger as she could only stare on in disbelief at what her mother was saying. “I don’t know if you saw, but I damn near won that battle royal on the last show!”
Sid laughed, doubling over and slapping her knee. When she came back up, she was surprised to see the serious look still on Kenzi’s face. “Oh my god! You are really serious about that aren’t you?” Sid chased down her drink and poured herself another one. “You were eliminated so many times before the referee actually saw you get eliminated! Who in their right mind is going to pick you over someone like Kat…one of the longest reigning champions on LAW? Who is going to pick you to beat Abby Addiction, a 6-time champion and a Hall of Famer? Who is going to pick you to beat a woman you have never beaten…a former Marquee Champion…a former 2-time LAW Champion?” Sid chuckled, sipped her drink and added, “You think that just because Amy Jo Smyth is supposedly picking you…you stand a chance in hell against any of the three of them, let alone two on the same night?! Wake up Kenzi…you’re barely a speed bump for any of them on the way to the finals.”
Kenzi balled up her fists, angry at the very thought that her performance, no matter how underhanded, could have been so easily dismissed. “I got pass over half the field! I personally eliminated Gabby! How am I a speed bump?” She pointed a harsh finger in her mother’s face, “The reason Aims is picking me is because she knows what’s in my heart! She knows that I have it in me to go all the way!”
“I don’t even think you’re stupid enough to believe that!” Sid brushed past her and walked to the stand in front of one of the largest picture windows that either of them had ever seen. The view of Lacklanland proper was spectacular, but they would have to enjoy it later. “Amy Jo Smyth has it in for Sarah. Since Sarah stopped talking to her, she will do anything to get a rise out of her…including filling your head with nonsense so that you charge out there Sunday after next and get your stupid head knocked off! It’s a ploy Kenzi…you are falling for it, hook, line, and sinker!”
Kenzi was growing angrier as she answered, “Aims wants to face me!”
This actually tickled Sid, “She wants to beat you up in front of Sarah, assuming you find a way to get through to the finals! Amy Jo Smyth cares for one thing and one thing only…she cares for that LAW Championship!” Sid looked at Kenzi evenly, looking to drive home her point to the girl. “If she cared so much for you, do you think that she would have gone out of her way to shit all over the biggest title match of your career in a federation she had nothing to do with?” Sid didn’t give her a chance to answer, she jumped in and answered it for her. “NO! When she challenged for the title…who was her number one supporter? I think that was…you…wasn’t it? Yes! I think that’s right!” Sid shrugged, “But…she wasn’t there for you at all was she? No words of encouragement…no ‘good luck kiddo’ just a shit gif, if I’m not mistaken. Is that someone who thinks the world of your ability and your chances to win?” Sid waited for an immediate retort, but there was none. It was cruel of her to tarnish one of the last remaining ‘friends’ from the old guard she had in LAW, but it had to be done. “Amy Jo is playing games with you…and you are eating it up dear…wake up and realize who the people are who are playing games with you right now!”
This actually did wake Kenzi up as she narrowed her eyes and starred at her mother. “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Sid gave her a very earnest look, “It means that Lacklan and Smyth are one in the same…that is how they operate. They have deviant minds and they are subverting yours for their benefit. Smyth is filling your mind with nonsense so she can drive a wedge between you and Sarah, and Sarah is just using you for…for…whatever it is that you two do together! Once Smyth is done with you, she still has her title and you’re an afterthought." She shrugged. "Once Sarah is bored with you, it will be off to another ‘vacation’ with another one of her awesome new friends…maybe that pretty little goth girl who’s always giving her the goo-goo eyes…Milisandre?”
Kenzi wanted toss her out on her ass, but that wasn’t the deal. She could talk all she liked, but that wouldn’t change her mind about Sarah…maybe AJ…but not Sarah. Kenzi threw back her head and raised her head a bit higher. “Maybe you are right about AJ…and maybe you aren’t. I can’t explain why she decided to shit on me, and while I really want to believe that she wants me to win…maybe you are right, maybe it’s not for any other reason than to shit on Sarah.” She took a breath to gather her thoughts, “This is what I know…I earned my way into the QOTR when everyone said I didn’t belong there and on the 27th I am going to walk into Las Vegas and earn my way into the finals…and that is the God’s honest truth!” Kenzi turned to walk away, satisfied that she had made her point.
“You know what I still haven’t heard you say?” She didn’t look back at Kenzi, but she knew she was listening. “What you’d do when and if you got there and you found yourself across the ring from your precious Sarah…”
Kenzi didn’t answer, she put up her middle finger and continued to walk out. Sid chuckled as she tossed down her drink and let the sting of the expensive liquid fill her belly with its hot fire. Kenzi was determined to go through with wrestling in the QOTR…that was her focus, but Sid was concentrating on the long game. So long as Kenzi was focused on what the right hand was doing, she’d never notice what was going on with the left…
LACKLANLAND
Maine
August 17, 2017
Kenzi was like an enraged beast as she took to her new favorite hobby, kicking the holy hell out of poor Jacob in the confines of the Lacklanland gym. Maybe it could have been considered training, but to anyone who bore witness to it, it would have just been a mugging. Kenzi punched him when they were supposed to break clean, she stomped him savagely whenever he went down, and she bit him a time or two when he was stupid enough to put any of his cherished body parts too close to her deadly chompers. Kenzi was taking out her frustrations on the young man for reasons that were beyond his control, but that was just how the world sometimes worked.
Kenzi headbutted the man, blinding him as tears sprang to his eyes and quicker than a hiccup, she took him to the mat and locked him into a kneebar…one that looked very reminiscent of the ‘Sweet Release’ finisher that Katalina Star, her opponent in the QOTR used to great effect. Jacob tapped on the mat, but Kenzi didn’t release the hold. Jacob pounded the mat again, much harder as he yelled, “DUCHESS, PLEASE!!”
Kenzi didn't release the hold, even as the man wailed in pain until she was finally stopped by their newest houseguest, Milisandre Crowthorne. “So, like…probably not a good idea to cripple the staff…” Mili usually seemed awkward in her own skin, but this time there was a bit more actual concern on her face than there usually was. She leaned on the ring apron, “…that’s a good way to have the chef start pissing in your soup…just saying.”
After a moment, Kenzi let the man go, not because of the threat of having her soup urinated in, she knew that no one would dare to do that and risk Sarah’s wrath, it was more the embarrassment of her new friend seeing her charged up over the comments of her mother the day prior. Kenzi shoved Jacob away, sending him rolling out the opposite side of the ring and down to the floor.
“OWW! Thank…y-you Duchess…” he said as he limped away.
Milisandre slipped into the ring and sat beside Kenzi, tucking her legs underneath her and her hair behind her ear. “Is this about the Queen of the Ring? Is that why you’re trying to rip that guy’s leg off and beat him with it?”
Kenzi shook her head, still embarrassed over her actions. “It’s not the QOTR…I’ve got that…I’m ready for it. It’s my mother…it’s this wedding…it’s all the shit in between!”
Milisandre nodded, doing her best to try to be a calming influence, though that wasn’t really something that she ordinarily did. This was all new for her, having friends that had endeared themselves to her so readily…accepting her for who she was and allowing her to become a third wheel without complaint. The least she could do was try to help where she could. “I can’t help with the mother part…but I’m doing my best with the wedding planning. I mean, I know I’m not the greatest, but maybe we can just get a professional to help.”
Kenzi shook her head, doing her best to allay the girl’s fears. “NO! You’re fine Mili! You're doing a far better job than I did planning my first wedding!”
“Wut…?” she deadpanned as she stared at Kenzi. “…you were married before?”
Kenzi shook her head, “NO! Well…yes…I was married to a guy I dated…at least I think I was married to him. We were really drunk in Hooters and I guess one thing led to another.” Kenzi stopped as she realized how ridiculous that sounded now. She waved that off. “Forget that…last year I was supposed to marry my very first girlfriend…my first love; Alex Yin. I had planned out everything myself…I was going to do it right on live LAW television…but…” her voice trailed off and she shrugged. “…Alex called it off...then she broke up with me over Twitter.”
Milisandre’s eyes widened as she wondered if Kenzi was joking. The girl was a notorious jokester, but she could find no hint of a joke anywhere on her face. She reached out and put her hand on Kenzi’s shoulder. “Wow…that’s…that’s…” she paused as she searched for the right words, but there weren’t any, so she just went with what was handy, “…super freaking weird dude!”
Kenzi smiled and shrugged her shoulder. “Yeah…it was.” She sighed, thinking back to that time and how low she had been. “You know…after that night…I tried to kill myself.” Tears sprang to her eyes and she wiped them away. “I ran off and it was my mother who found me and dragged me back…she didn’t try to comfort me any anything like that, she was just overjoyed that I didn’t get married to another woman.”
Milisandre was fascinated, and also a little creeped out by the oversharing. This wasn’t what she was used to, but if this was what having friends was all about, maybe it wasn’t so bad. “How did you get over it? I mean, if your mom wasn’t there for you.”
Kenzi laughed, “A good friend and a whole lot of drinking!”
Milisandre laughed, “Now you are speaking my language!”
Kenzi shook her head. She had seen Milisandre drink like no one she had ever seen. That girl’s blood was probably at least 90 proof all on its own. “Ashley Marie Chase, one of my bridesmaids…she was there for me. She was my only friend at the time…she’s my oldest friend now.” Kenzi closed her eyes as she thought back to that time. “We drank so much! Holy shit! I don’t remember anything…and right now, I wish I could do that again!”
Milisandre looked around sheepishly, “Don’t threaten me with a good time!” She chuckled, then grew serious. “But seriously Ken, don’t let stuff with your mother get to you…not this close to your wedding. You and Sarah are good together…HELL, you guys are GREAT together!" She snickered as she looked around. "Of course, it doesn't hurt that she is super freaking rich!"
Kenzi smirked, "I'm not marrying her for her money. "I'd marry her even if she didn't have two dimes to her name." Kenzi knew that Milisandre didn't mean anything by it, but the thought had been on her mind. How long would it be before someone lambasted her for being a golddigger, which she wasn't and had never been. She made a mental note to herself to deal with that notion as soon as possible, even if Sarah disagreed.
Milisandre rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant! Hey, money aside, If your mom is too blind to see how great you are with Sarah, then that is her problem! You show her how happy you are, and if that isn’t enough for her…maybe she doesn’t deserve you.”
Kenzi nodded, letting her new friend’s words sink in. She was right, her happiness with Sarah is all that mattered. If her mother didn’t want to see her happy, then maybe her mother really didn’t deserve to be in her life. Maybe she didn’t need to listen to anything that she had to say at all. “You know what…?” she let a smile curl the corner of her lips, “…for a kid…you’re pretty cool!”
Milisandra groaned, “A Cool Kids joke...God…that was terrible!”
Kenzi smirked, “Yeah, yeah! We can't all be as hilarious as you new boyfriend, now can we?" Kenzi laughed as Milisandre covered her face and blushed as the mention of her budding romance with one of Sarah's guards. Kenzi took quick advantage of the distraction, while the element of surprise was on her side. "Race you to the liquor cabinet in the Great Room!” Kenzi rolled out of the ring and took off like a shot.
Milisandra’s mouth fell open as she looked up and found Kenzi halfway out of the gym. She got to her feet and tried to chase after her. “THIS PLACE IS HUGE!! I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE THE GREAT ROOM IS!!”
She chased after Kenzi in the hopes that she wouldn’t get lost in the enormous manor like she had been for the last several days…
Sidney Grey’s Journal
August 18, 2017: Today I saw you say the absolute stupidest thing that I think I have ever seen you say! Not only do you want to marry Sarah, but you also want to sign a prenuptial agreement?
…YOU HAVE TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME…
Let’s assume for a moment that you actually do get married…over my dead body…what do you think happens when that stupid tramp decides she is done with you for good? Do you think that she will be a kind and benevolent Queen and hand you over half her Queendom? Do you think that she will give two shits about what happens to you after she’s had her fill of being with you? The answer is a resounding NO! She will be on to the next adventure and the next ‘Beloved’ quicker than your fake marriage to Parker Van Peters!
…speaking of Parker…my favorite suitor for you…
Today we also found out that your ex-husband was dead and gone. I have to tell you, I saw the touching tribute that you did to his memory and I have to say…it’s painfully obvious to me that you still love him. A real, true, deep and lasting love…the way that nature intended it. When you read this, I hope you realize the depth of my feelings on the matter and you understand the truth behind them. You let Mr. Right get away just so you could spend time with Ms. Wrong!
I am very sad that Parker is gone…but in every dark cloud there is a silver lining. No sense in me not sharing with you that while you were busy eulogizing Parker, I was also busy looking into this ridiculous idea of a prenup that you put your attorney, Dani Chow on.
…you find the most interesting things sometimes when you dig deep enough…
You are not going to marry Sarah Lacklan, and whether you now believe that I am right or not, on the 26th of August, none of that will matter. You won’t be able to blame me for this…you will only have yourself to blame…
…I will just be there to pick up the pieces…
“So here it is, at long last the 2017 Queen of the Ring is upon us and it’s time for the last 8 competitors in the match to put up or shut up. The pre-match smack talk is in full bloom and everyone is on the edge of their seats as they look to put their stamp on things and charge into the first round of action with their fists ready to do damage to whomever is unlucky enough to be their draw. For me, that woman is a friend…Katalina Star.”
“Kit Kat is a special soul, who I am sorry and quite embarrassed to say that I neglected to get to know until very recently. I was busy stinking up the ring and jerking curtains when she was tearing up the tag team division with Katie Klein and having a record tying championship run. We really had no real reason to interact…but that is no excuse. We work for the same company and even though she was on a whole other level, I could have made the time to get to know her.”
“In spite of her connection to a wresting family that hates my guts for having the gall to not quit when someone tried their best to drive me away…I bare Kat no ill will. I no longer bare her wife or even Jamilyn Storm any ill will. I am completely over 2016, though if you listen to people like Stacy Jones, I should be fighting everyone in the Cornett clan until the end of time. I don’t have the time or inclination to do that, I live in the now…and the now is about one thing, it is about taking charge of destiny and doing the one thing that no one expects…win my way to the finals of the Queen of the Ring and immortalize my name in the annals of history as the best of the best!”
“Damn my luck all to hell, I got some of the worst luck since I am in the bracket with some of the best in the business…certainly some of the best that LAW has produced. Standing front and center in the first round is one of the greatest champions in LAW…and one of the greatest enigmas in our company. For many, they look at Kat and they see the bondage and the talk of doms and subs and they discount the fact that she is an accomplished wrestler who has been a champion in this company a lot longer than she has not. That is what I get to face in the very first round of action.”
“Anyone who follows you Kat will see that you are a sweetheart of a person. She hardly have a cross word to say about anyone and you have a kind spirit that most should be envious of. For my part, I recognize that and I love that about you…but…before we start fingerbanging each other and swapping spit in the shower, I want to make it clear that I know that you are a lot more dangerous that what you let on. Hell, like I said, you are a living legend in this company and I know that you won’t go down easy…but you will go down, I promise you!”
“I don’t say that to be arrogant or dismissive, I say that because I know who you are and I know who I mean to be. I am forging my destiny in LAW and you have already made yours. Are you hungry for more? Maybe you are, but you will NEVER be as hungry as I am! You will NEVER know what it feels like to be the underdog or the black sheep of the company. I know what it’s like and I am tired of feeling that way…I am tired of being overlooked and underappreciated when I fight as hard or harder than anyone…when I give 110% and I see others who don’t give a fraction of that doing better than me! That is why I am going to fight harder than you and that is why I am going to beat you in Las Vegas and advance to the next round and face Abby Addiction or Gabby Camacho.”
“I hope that after it is over and done that you and I can still be friends. I hope that after I take the next giant leap in this company that I can equal your accomplishments here. I intend to outdo you at the Queen of the Ring…and I intend to start etching my name into the record books right beside yours!”
“When I beat you Kit Kat, I am going to be looking to face Abby Addiction or Gabby Camacho. I made no bones about who I want to face…and who I want to beat in route to the finals. Both of you guys are the class of any division you find yourselves in, but on the 27th of this month, you will find yourselves on the losing end of an equation that neither of you will be able to solve. My want and desire times the number of people in my division who think they want to win as much as me. The answer is going to elude both of you right up until the moment one of you advance to the next round and find me there, already waiting to beat you and send you back to the locker room for a cold shower and a long night of reflection.”
“Abby, like I said after the rumble, I don’t have a problem with you, but I do have a problem with you thinking that you are going to make your big comeback here at the QOTR at my expense! I don’t know what personal problems you had that took you out of competition after you came in with some of the greatest fanfare of all time, but the fact of the matter is that I have been here and I have gone through a great many personal issues and I never left and I never gave up! I don’t intend to do that now. So, I’ll see you on Sunday the 27th if you are good enough to put down a two-time LAW Champion…which is something that I have yet to do…but if you don’t, I promise you I will!”
“Gabby, you and I have enough history to yammer endlessly over the rest of the night, but I don’t have to yammer because I am in your head, whether you admit it or not. I don’t like you and I never will! If I ever get the chance to smash your face into a million pieces I will do it without hesitation. The thought of facing you gives me butterflies in the pit of my stomach because I want to beat you so badly that I can actually taste it! For your part, you will just go with the same old tired lines about how I am not worth your time, I suck, blah, blah, blah! Maybe the fans will eat that up and maybe they will even believe it…but you know who won’t…YOU! I am the one that sent your ass to the locker room and you couldn’t even accept that fact and walk away…you had to run back in and attack me like the bully and the coward that I have always known that you were!”
“A reckoning is coming…if you really want to avoid it, let Abby beat your ass or just decide not to show up if you like…either of those things will be acceptable. I am on a mission to win out and head to the finals…but I am not above making a little detour to bury my foot so deep in your ass that you’ll have to open your mouth so I can unlace my boots!”
“What does winning my bracket get me? A do over with Stacy Jones? A dance with La Estrella? An encore with Kate Steele? A date with my soon to be wife, Sarah Selena Lacklan? If I have my choice, I’ll face Sarah in the finals and that will be that…but I’d be a damn fool to discount any of the rest of you! Stacy is riding high after her rumble win, but I think she’ll find the opposition a lot stiffer than it was last time. La Estrella also put on one hell of a performance and she could easily be right on through to the finals…waiting to reverse her fortunes from last year. Maybe Kate decides to take this match seriously and dedicates herself to meeting me one on one…”
“…maybe one of you survives the flames…but I don’t think that any of you will. I think that my wife will do what she said she would and she will puck out Kate’s teeth…one by one until she finally decides that she’s had enough and she sends her into the Abyss. After that…it will be La Estrella or Stacy who will face her wrath and get put down next. There’s no shame in it, that is just the way that it goes…”
“Then…at the end of the night, I will be looking to start my honeymoon by becoming a real life WIFE BEATER!”
“That is a joke…and not a very good one, but at the end of the night…I want nothing more than to see you standing across the ring from me…I truly do…even more than I want to face Gabby in the second round. You deserve this…you deserve to win out and get to what is essentially the medal round of this tournament. I know that will make you and your father proud…but I want you to know that I am already proud. I am proud of you as a fighter and as a person. I am proud of you as the woman who I am going to marry the night before we tear into each other for the right to be what your people already call you…a Queen…”
“…Tu es mon coeur et ma vie. La nuit avant de nous rencontrer sur le ring, je donne ma vie à vous. Dans la nuit après, je vais vous montrer mon coeur... Je t'aime…”