Bearing: True North

[Charlotte Shimizu]

Residence Balduina
&
River Chateau Hotel
Rome, Italy
28-29 May 2024

Charlie trudged down to the lobby of her hotel, irritated. Mutiny is what this was. Full-on mutiny. Nat, Rini and Hannah had banded together to completely prohibit Charlie from watching the NBA playoffs in their shared suite. Sure, the games were on at unholy hours of the night due to the time difference… She’d offered to take the sofa bed instead of the main bed so that they could hide in the bedroom! But that apparently wasn’t enough, so now she found herself evicted.

Pulling out her phone, she pulled up her texts, quickly finding the desired contact, and tapped out a message: ‘Hey. I’ve been evicted from my own room, so I can’t watch the game. Which hotel you at?’

The response was almost an agonizing time in coming. Charlie started going through alternatives. She could watch the game on her phone, but her phone’s screen was small. She could try to find a bar that had it on, but that wasn’t likely in fucking Rome of all places. It was a pretty enough city, and she liked their football well enough… but the likelihood of them having an NBA game on was stupidly slim.

‘River Chateau Hotel.’ Pax included his room number, so she headed for the doors. It was only a matter of a few moments to get a cab and give her destination. It was ten minutes to get to the other hotel and pay her fare.

The façade of the building and the lobby almost made her regret that she confined her hotel choices to those which had rooms that could comfortably sleep four that weren’t exorbitantly priced. It was really just her and Nat covering the housing costs, so they couldn’t afford a place like this. Shaking herself, she strode inside, got directions from a clerk, and made her way to Pax’s room.

She hesitated, her hand poised to rap on the door, a flutter of nervousness unsettling her stomach. Was this a normal thing for a girlfriend to do? How out of the norm was just going to his place to watch a game? It couldn’t be that strange, right? She’d had so little meaningful experience with romantic relationships. She barely counted anything that happened in High School, and she certainly didn’t count Shiori. She didn’t even have any second-hand accounts to go by, her friendships being scarce as her relationships were.

Charlie swallowed both her nervousness and the thoughts racing through her mind. Pax wouldn’t have told her where he was if it was unusual. Sure, there were all the connotations with her going to his hotel room, but it was basically his home while he was on the road. It wasn’t anything special… Just a visit to watch the game.

She knocked.

“One moment!” came the call from inside the room before the sounds of the door could be heard. Pax pulled the door abruptly open, a small smile on his face. His dark hair was tousled and he was dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a white t-shirt that was wrinkled from having just been pulled on.

“Hey Charlotte, come on in. Can I get ya anything?” He pulled the door open, stepping aside to let her into the almost opulent suite. The room was filled with the hum of the air conditioner and the sound of the basketball game playing on his TV.

Charlie smiled, stepping inside and brushing her hand lightly against his shoulder in greeting. “Just water, thanks,” she said, ignoring the tingling that shot up her arm from the contact.

She heard the crowd noise crescendo and turned quickly to the TV, seeing the dark jerseys had the ball and were tearing down the court. Charlie dove for the couch, immediately enthralled as the Minnesota player, Conley, made a three-point jump shot, giving them a ten point lead over Dallas.

“YES!” she cheered.

The rest of the second quarter passed much the same way, with both of them ragging on the Mavs while cheering on the Wolves. There was part of her mind, however, that always knew how close he was to her, how warm he was beside her. She may have been focused on the game, but she was always aware when his hand came up from her shoulder to run a light finger along the beaded braids.

Halftime finally came, the score tied up at forty-nine-all, and Charlie impulsively turned slightly, putting her back mostly to him. “Could you pull the pins out? They’re in the main tie,” she asked over her shoulder. He’d seen her remove them the last time they’d had any time together, back in Berlin, so she trusted he’d be able to find them.

A light shiver ran down her spine as his fingers sought out the hairpins, at first tentative, then with more confidence as he was able to follow the smaller braids to them. She felt the first pin leave her hair and helpfully held out an open hand to take it. One by one, the small braids came loose and fell forward around her face. She counted the pins as he pressed them into her hand, focusing on that instead of how nice the contact felt. All the braids free, she leaned forward to put the pins on the small coffee table between them and the TV.

Without her asking, he tugged the lower tie for her braid free and immediately started finger-combing her hair loose. She smiled and let her head roll back. She’d let him do this before and it let her ignore the halftime commentators, who only ever irritated her since they seemed to favor the teams she hated. Pax’s fingers quickly unbraided her hair and removed the upper leather thong, the mass of her hair coming loose around her shoulders.

Charlie smiled and leaned into his shoulder, feeling the tension melt away. It hadn’t been a good week thus far; with the results of her crew taking on The Murder, only for Shea to defect, and then the Pacers getting swept by the Celtics.

“You okay?” Pax asked, his arm snaking around to hold her against him. “With how things went down Sunday night?”

Charlie sighed, nestling closer to him. If she were honest with herself, she’d known that Shea wouldn’t stay with The Birds of Prey. The only thing that stung was that she’d betrayed them in favor of The Murder. “Yeah, I’m okay… It sucks… but it probably would’ve happened sooner or later. Even if I don’t win against Jennie, she probably would’ve bailed on us for her title shot.”

He held her for a moment, shifting his body slightly so that he could rest his chin on her shoulder. There was a long, almost awkward, pause after she finished speaking before he finally voiced his thoughts. “It’s not the first time she’s put aside her supposed principles for taking the easy route.” His arms squeezed her for a moment. “That doesn’t make it hurt any less, I know. I’m sorry ya had to deal with that.”

Charlie smiled, even knowing he couldn’t see it, and gently squeezed his arms back. “I’ll be fine, Pax, really. I’m disappointed, sure, and I don’t like how it went down… I’ll just save the anger for when it’s useful.” She twisted slightly in his arms to press a quick kiss to his cheek. “Thanks for worryin’ ‘bout me.”

---

The feed starts with a stunning view of a sunset over the Mediterranean. As the view pans back, it shows Charlotte standing on a strand of rocks surrounded by gently lapping waves. Her long hair flows free in the light breeze, obscuring her ribbon blouse and pale blue hakama. Only her heavy beaded braids remain stationary, hanging straight around her face.

“So here we are… Night of the Immortals… And I have an appointment with fate that will define my career going forward, for better or worse.” Charlotte turns from watching the sunset to face the camera, a slight smile on her face. “Oh I know what y’all are thinkin’... ‘Don’t be so dramatic, Charlotte’, but is the truth so dramatic? Win or lose, this match’ll be the one that everyone looks at. It will put me squarely into one camp or another of the Iron Maidens… Those who won the belt, and those who didn’t. Am I like Alexis Caffrey and Pandora Freeman? Or am I like Dawn Halliwell and Virginia Stepanov? Much as I’d be game to go for another round, I don’t want to be like Fiona McFly, who only won the title after her second Iron Maiden… And I have no illusions I’m like Eternity.”

Charlotte sighs heavily. “I dislike comparing myself to others, even in such an exclusive group as my fellow Maidens. There are too many variables that make me stand out among that group. Experience, height, weight, you name it there’s a whole range of options, even if you ignore that I’m the only flyer in the lot. It gives me no clue for what I can expect heading into that ring, beyond the fight of my career so far.”

Charlotte turns her attention back to the setting sun, delicately and smoothly lowering herself to kneel on the rock. As the camera moves to show more than her profile, she pulls her walnut black hair over her left shoulder. “So,” she resumes talking as though speaking to someone in the distance, “this is about me and Jennie Fenix… The Iron Hawk against the Genie, Jennie Fenix.”

Charlotte ponders in silence for a long moment. A white sail bobs in the distance, showing the seas are not as calm as they appear from this little cove. “Why are you so bent on making yourself look like you’re sweeter than honey, Jennie? Oh you’re a clean fighter most of the time and I respect that, but why try so hard to show it off? It comes off a bit like you’re overcompensating, or hiding something. What is it? I mean… You debuted seven years before you finally joined Imperial. Anything can happen at that time; extortion, bribery, abuse… The list is endless.

“Of course, it could also be setting yourself up as the opposite to your sister.” Charlotte pauses, grimacing. “You really need to see a professional about your obsession with comparing yourself to Tara. Why do it when you keep finding yourself lacking? Because she’s the reason you’re here at all? Maybe I’m just lucky with my sibs but I really don’t understand. You have totally different styles. You’ve already proven you can beat her in a ring, so why keep dwelling on it?”

Charlotte pauses again, this time thoughtful. “Y’know what Jennie… I just got it… You don’t wanna be seen as punching down. You wanna be seein as bringin’ the fight to the ones that have bigger names than you, or fighting equals, not doin’ the asshole thing of beatin’ up on newbs. It’s why you tried to make me your equal back in London.

“I’ll grant that you probably thought you were congratulating me, talking me up and all that shit… But listen again…”

She reaches into a loose sleeve and, with an audible click of a button, the cheers of the London crowd and Jennie Fenix’s voice flow around her, loud enough to drown out the gentle lapping of the water:
“I hope you know I lost a lot of money thanks to you!”
“I do believe that’s why it’s called gambling…”
“It wasn’t a shot, honey, no need to be slick. ‘Cause, y’know, I have cost a lot of people a lot of money. When I stepped into the ring against, oh, I don’t know, my sister, Tara – I cost a lot of people a lot of money. When I stepped into the ring with– oh, I don’t know– Shelly Diamond – I cost a lot of people a lot of money. When I stepped into the ring with– Brooklyn… Madrox… – I cost a lot of people a lot of money. Sooooo… it just feels a little weird being on the receiving end of that, y’know? But, honey– It don’t bother me none! I’m not like Joanne Canelli, or some generic Italian hack that thinks they’re in the mob. I’m just here to say this… face to face… woman to woman… underdog to underdog… Congratulations! YOU! EARNED IT!”

“Tell me, Jennie… How much of that was really about me? I counted maybe three or four sentences that even related to me, and only the last two were actual congratulations.” Charlotte holds up two fingers and waggles them for further emphasis, her eyes full of scornful distaste.

“I earned my shot, yes…” Charlotte concedes, almost grudgingly, “but I won’t pretend I have the victories you have. I’ve only been with Imperial all of eight months. I can only imagine the opportunities you’ve had… You may have had to contend with your older sister’s shadow and all the legacy that implied, but the door was open to you. What were your opportunities purchased with? Oh sure, you put in the effort once they were served up, but what got you to the table, Jennie?

“What got you into the Iron Maiden within two weeks of joining Imperial? What got you in the ring with Machado, Diamond, Stepanov, Madrox, Rodgers and O’Hara? What got you a shot at the Women’s Championship within seven months?” Charlotte’s expression is hard, almost fierce, as she fires off her queries.

“I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I can make a pretty good guess. Now, I’ll admit that you absolutely killed everything put before you, probably to prove that you were worth the shots you were given, and you certainly are… but how quickly would all those things have come to you without your family name?”

Charlotte sighs heavily, seemingly resigned to the inequity. “I could spend hours comparing that to how I spent six years as a glorified hurdle for new wrestlers, stripped of half my heritage, told I wasn’t worthy of the chances younger wrestlers were given because of where I came from and what I looked like. I have struggled and fought for every inch, every second in that ring. Every opportunity I’ve gotten, I bought with my blood, my sweat, my time, my pain.”

Charlotte shrugs the matter away casually, and reaches down to run a finger idly in the water lapping around her rocky perch. “But maybe I’m wrong… Maybe this sort of ‘rocket to the top’ thing is common for companies outside of Japan. Maybe I’m just the latest in a string of semi-annual darlings that get hurled at the ceiling to see if there’s someone hot enough to break through. I like to think that’s not true but I have to admit that my sudden appearance in the spotlight looks that way, doesn’t it?

A sheepish smile tugs at the corner of her mouth, “After all, I did show up back in October. Before Queen’s Gambit, my only positive was that I’d gotten a win over ol’ Ginny Stepanov. That’s the wrestling equivalent of having jack-shit to my name. Then Queen’s Gambit happened, and the awards came out, then I’m in a ring with Nick fuckin’ Knight with the Invictus Championship on the line. Then I’m neck-deep in the whole clusterfuck leading up to the Iron Maiden, and I won.

“You know how hard being in that cage is, don’t you, Jinx Rodriguez?” Charlotte pauses a beat to smirk, her eyes glittering with inner mirth. “Yeah… I’ll admit it took me a hot minute to figure out that was you… Then again, I wasn’t looking too hard and you change your name and look like they’re your panties. I almost laughed at that little temper tantrum you threw after dear ol’ Ginny got the W. Even that whiny bitch Holmes didn’t throw a conniption like that. You’d been Imperial all of two weeks, Jennie. What made you think the Iron Maiden was yours for the taking? The Iron Maiden means you have to keep your senses honed on all your opponents, not just the ones who are down… but you didn’t do that, did you, Jen? You lost track of the ones who were still up…”

Charlotte waves the topic away, seeming almost annoyed. “But that’s the Iron Maiden. Night Two is just us. No one else to deal with. No one else to keep track of. It’s the kind of thing you excel at. I can’t say that I can easily beat you because you’ve lost the Iron Maiden and I haven’t. The Iron Maiden’s a special sort of glorious Hell on Earth compared to a normal match. It’s proven by the fact that of the seven previous winners, only four of them won their challenge for the championship. I certainly ain’t a freaky powerhouse like Eternity who can win the Iron Maiden every time she’s been in there and turn around and defeat the Women’s Champ at Night of the Immortals.”

Charlotte smoothly rises to her feet, her hands unconsciously smoothing her blouse and hakama down and flipping her hair to her back. “What I will say, Jennie… Is that I will not make it easy for you to keep that belt. I am going to push you to your limit just as much as you’re going to push me to mine. We will see who breaks first… You or me? You may have been a champion twice, lived in the spotlight for years… but you will never be able to match the pressure I can take. There is nothing you can do to me that will keep me down. Oh, you might win…” Again, Charlotte pauses to chuckle, this time mirthlessly. “But you will never be able to take my title from me. Not even if you get into the cage next year and defeat five of the best women Imperial can offer, because then you’ll just be one of nine.”

Charlotte offers a cheshire-like smile, her teeth gleaming in the darkening twilight as she approaches the camera. “Though you could be the first to say that you were the Women’s Champ before you got to be the Iron Maiden.”

As the sun finally sinks below the horizon, her hand comes up and covers the lens. The feed cuts.

It’s later released in both Cherokee and Japanese languages.