MAY 14, 2010
CASTLE MANDRAKE
SOMEWHERE IN THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE
10:55 AM LOCAL TIME
She stood on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, the waves lapping just shy of her feet. Wendy Briese-Thompson stared out over the azure waters, the light southward wind blowing her hair behind her.
Just two more days here. Two more days and she would be on a plane to Las Vegas, leaving this infernal castle behind her. She thought of Terrence and Theresa, already in Sin City, and her heart ached. Two of the past three weeks, she had been seperated from her family, and the distance was wearing on her. Sunday night could not come fast enough.
To her surprise, her time at Castle Mandrake was not nearly as unbearable as she had expected. Almost immediately, Wendy had realized that Victor did not view her an equal in this partnership. He fancied himself the teacher, and she his student. The training sessions were brutal, but to his credit, Victor didn't take liberties. Still, after every session, she retreated to her room to nurse her bruises.
All the while, he had fed her propaganda, painting himself and all his deeds with a much rosier brush than she remembered. But through it all- she came to realize one thing. Victor honestly believed in what he was doing. He honestly believed that his actions, brutal and heartless though they may be, would eventually make the world a better place. But of course, he was misguided, she told herself. Compassion and love, that's what saved people. Not destruction and hatred. But still, everytime she heard Victor talk, she knew he was more secure in his beliefs and convictions than she likely ever would be.
In a way, she envied him.
Outside of their training sessions, she had mostly kept to herself. It was obvious the Mandrake family had no love for her. Time had not healed the animosity between her and Morrigan- the larger woman detested her with the same ferocity she had back when they were in the BWA together. Zechariah was young, and easily prejudiced, and he seemed to have as much contempt for her as his parents did. Little Delilah seemed to like her, but given that at least one other member of the Mandrake family was always around, shooting contemptious glares at her, she had stayed away from the little girl as well.
Out here, she felt truly alone.
Still, it wasn't the worst experience in the world. She had been given a room that was twice the size of The Nest's master bedroom. Her meals were exceptional, although she preferred to dine by herself, considering her choice of dining partners.
She thought about to the days ahead. Today would be no different than the past couple days, more training with Victor. Tomorrow the same as well. Then, Sunday morning, she and Victor would fly to Las Vegas, where they would compete in the Tag Wars tournament. After the tournament, she would be reunited with Terrence and Theresa, and the entire family would catch a red-eye to Chicago, arriving early Monday morning. That would give her just a few hours to rest and prepare for her match at Adrenaline. Needless to say, she would be relieved when Tuesday morning came- she already felt like she could sleep for a week.
She thought about her opponent for Adrenaline with a mixture of excitement and fear. Aside from her husband, Brian Hollywood was by far the toughest opponent she had yet faced in the PWX. Despite being named the number one contenders to the tag belts for the second pay-per-view in a row, she and Terrence had easily dispatched The Fallen. And although she'd never admit it aloud, Mercedes Morgan had been a joke; she was lucky that Wendy hadn't seriously hurt her. Punch and Pie was another match that bordered on insulting to her talents; she and Victor had dispatched the clown-dressing tag team with hardly any effort. And Lust, while big, had posed somewhat of a challenge, but Wendy still thought she had dispatched him a little too easily.
So far, the only person of note she had faced had been Terrence, and she had fallen short. She was thrilled when she had drawn Noah Hanson the following week, but his refusal to face her had been both infuriating and humiliating. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck in the opening matches forever because the PWX had absolutely no faith in her..
But that was about to change.
She was excited at the opportunity to face Brian Hollywood. Not only was Brian one of the most well-known and talented wrestlers in the PWX, he was also one of the most disliked. She couldn't understand just how someone could go their entire lives bathed in such arrogance. Hollywood had turned his back on his friends, all he cared about was himself, and winning his titles. She found him nothing more than a bully. A talented, dangerous bully, but a bully nonetheless.
Still, it was the moment she had been waiting for. If she could beat Brian Hollywood, the PWX brass would immediately sit up and take notice. She would stop being forced into opening matches against the likes of Lust and Punch & Pie, and finally get her chance to shine.
Most of all though, Wendy wanted to beat Brian because of this week. Wendy was as talented as they came when it came to wrestling- there was a time when she could have easily staked a claim as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. She had developed a strategy to compensate for her lack of size, and she was a veritable encyclopedia of submissions. But there was one Achilles heel she had always had.
Cheating.
Wendy had always been a strict believer of playing by the rules. Conscience had much to do with it, but the majority of her in ring ethics was based on pride. If you were good enough, you didnt need to use an illegal hold, you didnt need to use a weapon, and you certainly didn't need to have another person ambush your opponent from behind.
Wendy's strict adherence to the rules had made her a fan favorite, but in the ring, her ethics occasionally became a liability. She didn't know how many times she had been left laid out by an unwarranted chair shot or back attack. Every time, she had decried her attacker as a coward, and an inferior opponent unable to face her on even ground, and then moved on. Occasionally, as with Misty Xiao, she would get a rematch, and get some revenge in that fashion. But she had essentially allowed herself to fall into a rut. She was basically sacrificing wins for her own sense of self-righteousness.
She supposed she was lucky to have only suffered a couple extra notches in the loss column. Being known as the "good girl" wouldn't have done her any good if she had gotten killed. Even after being kidnapped by Victor, she had stubbornly clung to her ideals, because she foolishly believed the only way to beat Mandrake was to be his exact opposite.
But everything chamged the night she returned to wrestling. Being held down by four members of Hydra and essentially threatened with rape had been terrifying. It had also been eye opening- no longer would suffering these attacks hurt only her. She now had a daughter to think about- a daughter she didn't want growing up without a mother because she was too stupid to defend herself.
Terrence hadn't offered to help. It wasn't out of ignorance or apathy- he had learned long ago that merely suggesting Wendy change something would end in a large argument. So he had been content to let her keep going, resolving to dash in to rescue her when things got out of hand. But Terrence couldn't always be around to save her.
But Victor ignored her protests, and forced her to reevaluate herself. She was learning new techniques, techniques that would leave anyone trying to mess with her lying on the ground, grateful to still be alive. She didn't want to do this- she still wanted to be the sweet girl from Indianapolis that everyone adored. But no longer was she going to be a victim.
Brian Hollywood was the perfect opponent to test herself on. Rules and ethics meant nothing to him, only the victory, no matter how hollow. He was the type of man that would hit her with a chair, if it suited him. He was the type of man who would jump her from behind, just for the sake of leaving someone bloody on the concrete.
He was, in short, the exact sort of man she needed to vanquish. And she had her chance.
Monday night, she was going to use Brian Hollywood as a stepping stone. Not just to improve her standing in the PWX, but as a message to the world that things were different. No longer would she be a victim and a target, but there would be severe consequences to anyone who took advantage of her. She hoped everyone took note of Brian Hollywood's unconscious form at the end of their match, and realized they could be next if they tried anything.
Everyone thought of her as an angel? So be it. But angels weren't just cute cherubs with wings, harps, and halos. The Bible portrayed angels as warriors of the light, doing battle and slaying evil without mercy or pity. If that's the role she was to play, then so be it.
She looked at her watch. She needed to get back. Her next session with Victor loomed. More training. More bruises. More lectures.
She almost looked forward to it.
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