Post by Eternity on Aug 20, 2014 20:14:29 GMT
Few places in this world offer privacy, real privacy. A place to escape to when it all gets a bit too much. A place away from all the hungry eyes and sharp tongues. None of them understood me, none of them ever even tried, yet they all cast judgement upon me.
How dare they judge what they can never understand?
I have never understood that, it is such a uniquely human foible to pass judgement on someone or something without ever really understanding the person or situation isn't it, my love? And in the end that's all we are, isn't it my love?
Only human.
You know it, I know it. We accept it, and sometimes I think we are the only ones around here who do. More people should accept it, but they don't and I can think of at least three.
Ana Valentine, Kayla Richards and her big sister Amber. Three of the most cock-eyed, acid tongued bullies I have ever faced. Three women who have gone out of their way to remind me of my deepest, darkest and most secret pain. A pain I have only ever shared with you my love because I know you understand it.
The pain of being only human.
A pain I hide from the rest of them in the only two places where I can truly be alone with it. Undisturbed. The only two places where my privacy is guaranteed. In my mind and in our bathroom.
You hear the bathroom door lock. It was a satisfying, assured sound.
It clicked almost as instantly as we had and I felt almost as safe in here as I do when I am with you.
You see me approach the pristine white bathtub and then guided by my stare you see it is filled with countless fragments of ice of varying shapes and sizes, each as unique as it was cold.
You see me untie my hooded robe from around my waist and you quickly avert your eyes because you knew that even though we had been together now for over a year, I was not ready to be that vulnerable around anyone, not even you. Maybe I never would be, but you loved me regardless.
You focus on my pale ankles and then they are joined by the only other colour in here as my scarlet robe falls away behind them.
Your gaze follows my bare ankles as I step into the ice-bath. It sends a shiver down your spine because that's how deeply connected we are and I lie naked, my modesty preserved by the little shards of frozen beauty around me.
Moments later, you see me close my eyes and hear me exhale deeply and then begin to hum an entirely unfamiliar tune to myself.
The tune accompanies me as I sink lower and lower into the bathtub. Moments later, I disappear under a blanket of diamonds.
How dare they judge what they can never understand?
I have never understood that, it is such a uniquely human foible to pass judgement on someone or something without ever really understanding the person or situation isn't it, my love? And in the end that's all we are, isn't it my love?
Only human.
You know it, I know it. We accept it, and sometimes I think we are the only ones around here who do. More people should accept it, but they don't and I can think of at least three.
Ana Valentine, Kayla Richards and her big sister Amber. Three of the most cock-eyed, acid tongued bullies I have ever faced. Three women who have gone out of their way to remind me of my deepest, darkest and most secret pain. A pain I have only ever shared with you my love because I know you understand it.
The pain of being only human.
A pain I hide from the rest of them in the only two places where I can truly be alone with it. Undisturbed. The only two places where my privacy is guaranteed. In my mind and in our bathroom.
You hear the bathroom door lock. It was a satisfying, assured sound.
It clicked almost as instantly as we had and I felt almost as safe in here as I do when I am with you.
You see me approach the pristine white bathtub and then guided by my stare you see it is filled with countless fragments of ice of varying shapes and sizes, each as unique as it was cold.
You see me untie my hooded robe from around my waist and you quickly avert your eyes because you knew that even though we had been together now for over a year, I was not ready to be that vulnerable around anyone, not even you. Maybe I never would be, but you loved me regardless.
You focus on my pale ankles and then they are joined by the only other colour in here as my scarlet robe falls away behind them.
Your gaze follows my bare ankles as I step into the ice-bath. It sends a shiver down your spine because that's how deeply connected we are and I lie naked, my modesty preserved by the little shards of frozen beauty around me.
Moments later, you see me close my eyes and hear me exhale deeply and then begin to hum an entirely unfamiliar tune to myself.
The tune accompanies me as I sink lower and lower into the bathtub. Moments later, I disappear under a blanket of diamonds.
~~~
A young girl opens her eyes under water, submerged and struggling to breathe. Her natural impulse was to try and preserve herself so she thrashed her limbs around violently in the small bathtub even though both her mind and Father O' Shea wanted her to stop all this flailing insanity for her own good.
Under the swirling ripples she saw the golden cross dangling from his neck but his words were muffled as he held her under.
She soon closed her eyes and stopped writhing and then she felt that she was suddenly free again and like an ice cube on the surface of a summer drink she bobbed back up out of the water and felt reborn.
She rose anew and she opened her eyes and looked upon the kind old man with the gentle face through fresh eyes.
"Thank you, Father", she said.
"Welcome back to the world my child," he said.
~~~
A young girl opens her eyes under water, submerged and struggling to breathe. Her natural impulse was to try and preserve herself so she thrashed her limbs around violently in the small bathtub even though both her mind and Father O' Shea wanted her to stop all this flailing insanity for her own good.
Under the swirling ripples she saw the golden cross dangling from his neck but his words were muffled as he held her under.
She soon closed her eyes and stopped writhing and then she felt that she was suddenly free again and like an ice cube on the surface of a summer drink she bobbed back up out of the water and felt reborn.
She rose anew and she opened her eyes and looked upon the kind old man with the gentle face through fresh eyes.
"Thank you, Father", she said.
"Welcome back to the world my child," he said.
~~~
Sometime later, you're not entirely sure when, you see me emerge from the sheet of ice and open my eyes. I look at you with the vacant wonder of a newborn child, my glare was uncomfortable, cold, numb and the inhuman smile on my face seemed painted upon my lips.
You wondered who I was for a moment and in that moment it went dark.
You see me take a breath and my eyes flutter open in direct response to them.
The giant bronze maiden cast in the image of Mother Mary opens and your view is temporarily obstructed by plumes of purple smoke. It is okay though because you finally recognise the song of the four little angels as the same tune you heard me hum in our most private and intimate little moment earlier.
When the smoke clears you finally see me emerge slowly out of the iron maiden wearing a casual plain white t-shirt, pleated black short skirt, scarlet whale net stockings and black knee-high boots. Across my chest in curly pink font it reads simply:
Adding some much needed colour to the unusually rather muted palette is a customised unbuttoned bright purple suit jacket with large lime green shawl lapels that run across the shoulders.
On the left side is a vibrant orange corsage and somehow it all seems to work with my bright red hair that hangs loose around my shoulders.
My face is painted a pure porcelain white, my lips are a glistening ruby and a purple butterfly wing decorates the area around my left eye which sparkles with all the beauty of a thousand emeralds.
You see me stop as a little blonde tiger in a blue dress takes my jacket from me, singing in unison all the while with her three sisters.
You see me rise to my feet, my unique ensemble now complete. I was now a Princess worthy of addressing she who challenged my place upon the throne. You watch me walk to my golden throne with the red inlay at the end of the room whilst my little angels continue to serenade me with the same phrase over and over and over again.
You watch her offer me the IWF Diamonds World Championship and I scoop her into my lap and sit her on my knee as she continues to hold the belt for me. She seems camera shy and therefore keeps her head lowered.
You know Amber, and I know you really don't hear this very often so feel free to mark it down in your calendar as a very memorable day if it makes you feel any more special, but you continue to surprise me. Not for the reasons you want to and not for the reasons you need to, oh no, you could never do that, at least not well. No, you surprise me because as many hurtful things you've said about me over the last few weeks, it is still the most consistent I have ever heard you be in your career so far.
You've made no secret of the fact that you hate me and you've not even tried to hide it under your usual sourpuss mask of absolute insincerity, well except that one time last Monday when you acknowledged me as crazy but tough.
You told the sold out crowd at Sacrifice that you were excited to face me and then you claimed to know that the title currently in my possession gives anybody who holds it the right to call herself the best female wrestler in the world, but that's okay Amber, we all are allowed one little tiny intsy wintsy slip up aren't we? It's built right into your favourite little mantra isn't it?
What is it you always say?
The young orphaned leopard looks up at me and whispers.
Brunette: Nine out of ten...
You see me smile at my little girl before looking back at you.
Oh yes, that's it, nine times out of ten you can beat anybody, right? And so it must follow that nine times out of ten you hate me and my question is why? Why would a proud female wrestler who professes to have a ninety per cent hit ratio in every thing she does hate someone like me? It doesn't make much sense to me but then it isn't me who squanders most of her potential whilst getting caught out by her own childish logic.
You see me shrug.
Tell me which is it Amber? Do I have the right to call myself the best or am I really just a piece of poop?
The child on my lap giggles.
Heehee...poop...heehee...
You see me clear my throat and attempt to remain professional.
Ahem. Where was I? Oh yes, which am I Amber? Consider your position carefully because if I really am the worthless piece of trash you are trying so desperately to convince yourself that I am, what happens after this Sunday when I beat you? What would that make you if this piece of absolute garbage does the unthinkable at Legacy and embarrasses you? Will you be able to stand there and honestly and openly admit to the entire watching world that you were put down by somebody you claim is an absolute joke?
They say there's a first time for everything, don't they Amber so maybe you will be able to swallow your foolish pride, or maybe it's already too late. Back in January at Metamorphosis I fought you and I foolishly thought that even if I didn't win, I'd be able to earn your respect through giving you one hell of a close contest, but seeing as that never happened, I've come to realise that I don't want or need your respect. Turns out I am doing just fine without it, actually.
You know what else I realised? If you, Ana and Kayla are really the prototypical women's wrestlers around here, then I really don't want to be one of those either. I'm much happier being in my own little world, unique.
There will never be anyone quite like me ever again in this world. It turns out that I'm really not missing much by not being the little girl with the wrestling dream anyway. I missed out on being a stuck up little doody-head...whoopsie!
My little girl giggles again, I love to hear her laugh. It always brightens my day.
You see me shrug.
No big loss there, really. Still since you asked so nicely, yes Amber, I do have a dream. To you it's probably going to sound like the silly little dream of a stupid little girl, but still it is my dream.
You hear me cough and then the child obediently hops off my lap leaving me with my title.
I stand and prepare to deliver a royal proclamation to you, my brothers and sisters, my loyal subjects.
I still have a dream. It is a dream firmly rooted six feet under and it is as relevant today as it was one year ago. I have a dream that one day this Division will rise up and live out its means through competition rather than arrogance. We hold these truths to be self evident that ALL ETERNITY is created equal.
I HAVE A DREAM...THAT THIS SUNDAY ON THE RED HILLS OF SWEET AMBER, THE ADOPTED DAUGHTERS OF FRIENEMIES WILL BE ABLE TO SIT DOWN TOGETHER AT THE SHATTERED TABLE OF HELL AND REMINISCE ABOUT WHEN MY MOMMY KILLED YOUR MOMMY.
I HAVE A DREAM THAT ONE DAY EVEN THE STATE OF AMBER RICHARDS, A STATE SWELTERING WITH THE HEAT OF HEARTBREAK, SWELTERING WITH THE HEAT OF DEPRESSION WILL BE TRANSFORMED INTO AN OASIS OF BITTEN TONGUES AND BROKEN EGO.
I HAVE A DREAM MY FOUR LITTLE CHILDREN WILL LIVE IN AN IMPERIAL WRESTLING FEDERATION WHERE THEY WILL NOT BE JUDGED BY THE COLOURS OF THEIR FACES BUT BY THE COLOURS OF THEIR CHARACTER!
You see me hold up my Diamonds World Championship triumphantly and there is a smattering of applause from my daughters who are nestled in the shadows. You see me sit back down on my throne.
Like I said, it's a silly little dream but it is my dream nonetheless and you will never take that away from me, Amber. I guess it's just me being silly again here but I really would have expected that someone as gosh darn proud of being a legitimate female wrestler wouldn't waste so much time chastising me over not knowing the sexual preferences of my most casual acquaintances. Is that going to be on the test at Legacy? Really is it?
How will knowing which way Miss Grey swings help you to improve yours? Make no mistake Amber, this will be a test, whether you want to admit it or not and I expect you to come at me swinging. Give me all you've got girl, I can take it! I want neither of us to have any excuses after the purple smoke clears, especially you Amber.
And girl, do I know how you love your excuses! You always have one ready, especially to throw at me. You're always like I'm the best because Ana didn't pin me to become Champion. Erm, okay, true I guess, but then it was a steel cage match where pin falls were not the way to win the match in the first place.
She tossed your pale little tush off of a fifteen foot cage to win the title, so apparently match ending falls are totally fine when Ana is the one delivering them, but when the impact is on the other spine, suddenly it doesn't count!
Do over! Do over! I totally wasn't ready to be thrown off a ladder in a Hardcore match after I climbed!
Well guess what? What's good enough for the Goose is good enough for the Gander as my Grandma used to say.
What the hell is a Gander anyway?
That's one for Google later.
You know Amber, I can totally see why you girls get on, you real wrestling dreamers. You have both been upstaged by people who ended up living this crazy little dream of being the best professional wrestler better than both of you ever could. Between myself and Jessica Reed, we took your dreams and ran with them ourselves.
You see me raise the Diamonds World Championship again above my head triumphantly.
Ah ha! Now I get it, now all the hate, the bitterness and the contempt all makes sense! EUREKA! The penny drops! To coin a phrase from your fiercest rival - Hallelujah! You know it really is the darnedest thing but I really don't recall Jessica Reed ever saying that. Must have been in a Jess Christ Superstar parody I'm blanking on right now. I'm always doing that, you know.
You see me point at my head and then shake it.
The old memory is not what it used to be...
EhehehehehehehehehehuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Say why is Ana Valentine your greatest rival anyway? Surely it should be the one woman who you could only beat with divine intervention, no? Silly me thinking owning a victory over the only woman who is otherwise undefeated in singles competition would be worth touting heading into one of the biggest matches in your career.
Surely out of the two arguments where the other is simply "You suck Eternity" that is the one that makes the more convincing case as to why you should win at Legacy, no?
Oh sorry, I do apologise. There I go again questioning the lifelong dream of a REAL wrestler. I'm sorry, I really am. I don't mean to show you how to do your job better, it just comes naturally. Not bad for a comic book clown really, is it?
You know it has to be said I really don't see any evidence of all this legends training you've had to master your craft. I mean you are so quick to rattle off the names of who you trained with and the more I listen, the more I wonder if you actually learned anything apart from how to have your back pinned against a mattress or up against a wall?
I mean really, you take the time to attend one of the most prestigious wrestling schools in the United States and you don't learn a damn thing about how to sell your opponent as a threat and make yourself look better in the process if you beat them?
I have an excuse, I don't have the same formal training you do. Being the best damn female wrestler in the world is your little dream, not mine, and as long as you continue to underestimate me, it will be a dream you will never come to realise.
But by all means continue to dismiss me and get your panties in a twist over the little inconsequential things like how many title shots I've had. I'll just remind you that this is also your third World title shot since you've been here, we're even, in more ways than one actually because like you I EARNED every opportunity I got here in IWF.
Do I really have to remind you of the Goose and the Gander again?
You are the 2014 Heiress and I am the 2014 Iron Maiden. This is a clash of titans whether you want to believe it or not Amber, and more than that, this is actually a rubber match between us. You beat me at Metamorphosis, and I beat you the week before Night of the Immortals. We're even Stevens...err...I mean, Richards.
In fact the only real difference between us when it comes to the quest for the Diamonds World Championship is that you won it in two shots and it took me three, not really that big of a deal when you think about it, so let's not pretend that it makes all the difference in the world.
You are one of the women who can truly say they've sat at the top of both peaks in this Division, so I know what I am facing on Sunday. I'm facing an accomplished wrestler for whom nothing is ever good enough, a woman who feels so worthless and cheap in spite of all her accomplishments that she decided that rather than convince the world exactly why she deserves to be the first two time Diamonds World Champion this Sunday, she'd much rather spend her time running me down.
How broken are you doll if you can only feel good about yourself by running others down? How worthless do you feel that your entire purpose revolves around a sense of fleeting validation provided by ten pounds of gold and four pounds of leather?
It is okay Amber, it really is, you know something Amber, even when I clocked you in the face with a steel chair the last time we met in a one-on-one match, I knew we would meet again on some grand stage worthy of the both of us, and here we are.
Legacy 2014.
You stand before me having truly vanquished every other challenge they put in front of you and regardless of how I feel about you personally, you truly earned this opportunity. You deserve this chance to try and usurp Death from her Throne, and I hope you're more prepared for the challenge that lies ahead of you this Sunday than your words would suggest.
Mike Laszlo faces the unenviable chance of trying to conquer GOD but you Amber, you have the truly impossible task. GOD is defeated when nobody believes in Him, Death however is not so easily escaped because Death doesn't need your belief to strike you down, in fact Death's sense of humour is such that when you truly believe you are Immortal and that it doesn't stand a chance, that is when you die.
And your time of death is at hand.
Maybe it's for the best. Maybe it really is better this way. Maybe Amber Richards the arrogant wrestler needs to die so Amber Pleasant the loving wife and mother can be born.
Now, I understand what I must do at Legacy. I was forced to grow up with a Mommy who never came home again, and it was horrible. I will not allow little Emma to go through the same. Every little girl deserves a loving family.
Even spiteful little girls like Amber Richards.
You see me hold back the tears as I look at you.
It hurt more every time I thought about my past.
I kiss the Diamonds World Championship out in front of me and present it with both my hands to my parents.
I know they are watching me now and I know they will be watching me this Sunday.
I hope they will be proud of me, always.
I close my eyes but not before a couple of rogue tears escape and carve their way to freedom across the valleys of my cheeks.
I am at the centre of the sun once more.
Nobody could bully me here, not even Amber Richards.
You wondered who I was for a moment and in that moment it went dark.
~~~
When your senses returned to you you heard angelic voices singing somewhere beyond both of us. I hear violins.
You see me take a breath and my eyes flutter open in direct response to them.
Young girl in the market
Gives it to the men
When the men leave
Her eyes are red
When her eyes are closed again
She sees the dark market of a violin
And she sings
They say the most horrible things
But I hear violins
When the smoke clears you finally see me emerge slowly out of the iron maiden wearing a casual plain white t-shirt, pleated black short skirt, scarlet whale net stockings and black knee-high boots. Across my chest in curly pink font it reads simply:
Daddy's Girl
Adding some much needed colour to the unusually rather muted palette is a customised unbuttoned bright purple suit jacket with large lime green shawl lapels that run across the shoulders.
On the left side is a vibrant orange corsage and somehow it all seems to work with my bright red hair that hangs loose around my shoulders.
My face is painted a pure porcelain white, my lips are a glistening ruby and a purple butterfly wing decorates the area around my left eye which sparkles with all the beauty of a thousand emeralds.
You see me stop as a little blonde tiger in a blue dress takes my jacket from me, singing in unison all the while with her three sisters.
When I close my eyes
I am at the centre of the sun
You see one of the sisters, the red haired tomcat in the yellow dress then approach me and regale me in a beautiful purple velvet cloak of finest Imperial purple with a pockmarked white trim.
And I cannot be hurt
By anything this wicked world has done
By anything this wicked world has done
A third sister, a raven haired puma in a white dress emerges from the darkness behind me and you see me fall to one knee as she reaches up to place the golden butterfly tiara on my head.
~~~
A little blonde girl in a pretty white dress runs around the garden on one sunny summer afternoon, chasing her younger cousin. Transparent pink fairy wings on her back and a silvery star tipped magic wand in her hand. Her costume and her pale complexion sparkles with the sprinkles of glitter.
Her mother and father watch from the kitchen window. Father has his arms around mother's waist and his chin on her shoulder, they smile. She looks at them and smiles back, offering them a wave only exemplified by her dimples.
They wave back and only then when she knows for certain that they are still watching does she resume trying to turn her cousin into a toad with a wave of her wand.
She'd have to catch him first and that meant running around in circles again.
~~~
Her mother and father watch from the kitchen window. Father has his arms around mother's waist and his chin on her shoulder, they smile. She looks at them and smiles back, offering them a wave only exemplified by her dimples.
They wave back and only then when she knows for certain that they are still watching does she resume trying to turn her cousin into a toad with a wave of her wand.
She'd have to catch him first and that meant running around in circles again.
~~~
I look into your eyes
And I am at the centre of the sun
And I cannot be hurt
By anything this wicked world has done
You see me rise to my feet, my unique ensemble now complete. I was now a Princess worthy of addressing she who challenged my place upon the throne. You watch me walk to my golden throne with the red inlay at the end of the room whilst my little angels continue to serenade me with the same phrase over and over and over again.
Centre of the sun
Before my throne you watch me stop and turn and hush my children with a simple nod. The three sisters move silently back into the shadows from where they came, and the fourth little brunette girl in the green dress with the face of a leopard timidly approaches from the right. You watch her offer me the IWF Diamonds World Championship and I scoop her into my lap and sit her on my knee as she continues to hold the belt for me. She seems camera shy and therefore keeps her head lowered.
You know Amber, and I know you really don't hear this very often so feel free to mark it down in your calendar as a very memorable day if it makes you feel any more special, but you continue to surprise me. Not for the reasons you want to and not for the reasons you need to, oh no, you could never do that, at least not well. No, you surprise me because as many hurtful things you've said about me over the last few weeks, it is still the most consistent I have ever heard you be in your career so far.
You've made no secret of the fact that you hate me and you've not even tried to hide it under your usual sourpuss mask of absolute insincerity, well except that one time last Monday when you acknowledged me as crazy but tough.
You told the sold out crowd at Sacrifice that you were excited to face me and then you claimed to know that the title currently in my possession gives anybody who holds it the right to call herself the best female wrestler in the world, but that's okay Amber, we all are allowed one little tiny intsy wintsy slip up aren't we? It's built right into your favourite little mantra isn't it?
What is it you always say?
The young orphaned leopard looks up at me and whispers.
Brunette: Nine out of ten...
You see me smile at my little girl before looking back at you.
Oh yes, that's it, nine times out of ten you can beat anybody, right? And so it must follow that nine times out of ten you hate me and my question is why? Why would a proud female wrestler who professes to have a ninety per cent hit ratio in every thing she does hate someone like me? It doesn't make much sense to me but then it isn't me who squanders most of her potential whilst getting caught out by her own childish logic.
You see me shrug.
Tell me which is it Amber? Do I have the right to call myself the best or am I really just a piece of poop?
The child on my lap giggles.
Heehee...poop...heehee...
You see me clear my throat and attempt to remain professional.
Ahem. Where was I? Oh yes, which am I Amber? Consider your position carefully because if I really am the worthless piece of trash you are trying so desperately to convince yourself that I am, what happens after this Sunday when I beat you? What would that make you if this piece of absolute garbage does the unthinkable at Legacy and embarrasses you? Will you be able to stand there and honestly and openly admit to the entire watching world that you were put down by somebody you claim is an absolute joke?
They say there's a first time for everything, don't they Amber so maybe you will be able to swallow your foolish pride, or maybe it's already too late. Back in January at Metamorphosis I fought you and I foolishly thought that even if I didn't win, I'd be able to earn your respect through giving you one hell of a close contest, but seeing as that never happened, I've come to realise that I don't want or need your respect. Turns out I am doing just fine without it, actually.
You know what else I realised? If you, Ana and Kayla are really the prototypical women's wrestlers around here, then I really don't want to be one of those either. I'm much happier being in my own little world, unique.
There will never be anyone quite like me ever again in this world. It turns out that I'm really not missing much by not being the little girl with the wrestling dream anyway. I missed out on being a stuck up little doody-head...whoopsie!
My little girl giggles again, I love to hear her laugh. It always brightens my day.
You see me shrug.
No big loss there, really. Still since you asked so nicely, yes Amber, I do have a dream. To you it's probably going to sound like the silly little dream of a stupid little girl, but still it is my dream.
You hear me cough and then the child obediently hops off my lap leaving me with my title.
I stand and prepare to deliver a royal proclamation to you, my brothers and sisters, my loyal subjects.
I still have a dream. It is a dream firmly rooted six feet under and it is as relevant today as it was one year ago. I have a dream that one day this Division will rise up and live out its means through competition rather than arrogance. We hold these truths to be self evident that ALL ETERNITY is created equal.
I HAVE A DREAM...THAT THIS SUNDAY ON THE RED HILLS OF SWEET AMBER, THE ADOPTED DAUGHTERS OF FRIENEMIES WILL BE ABLE TO SIT DOWN TOGETHER AT THE SHATTERED TABLE OF HELL AND REMINISCE ABOUT WHEN MY MOMMY KILLED YOUR MOMMY.
I HAVE A DREAM THAT ONE DAY EVEN THE STATE OF AMBER RICHARDS, A STATE SWELTERING WITH THE HEAT OF HEARTBREAK, SWELTERING WITH THE HEAT OF DEPRESSION WILL BE TRANSFORMED INTO AN OASIS OF BITTEN TONGUES AND BROKEN EGO.
I HAVE A DREAM MY FOUR LITTLE CHILDREN WILL LIVE IN AN IMPERIAL WRESTLING FEDERATION WHERE THEY WILL NOT BE JUDGED BY THE COLOURS OF THEIR FACES BUT BY THE COLOURS OF THEIR CHARACTER!
You see me hold up my Diamonds World Championship triumphantly and there is a smattering of applause from my daughters who are nestled in the shadows. You see me sit back down on my throne.
Like I said, it's a silly little dream but it is my dream nonetheless and you will never take that away from me, Amber. I guess it's just me being silly again here but I really would have expected that someone as gosh darn proud of being a legitimate female wrestler wouldn't waste so much time chastising me over not knowing the sexual preferences of my most casual acquaintances. Is that going to be on the test at Legacy? Really is it?
How will knowing which way Miss Grey swings help you to improve yours? Make no mistake Amber, this will be a test, whether you want to admit it or not and I expect you to come at me swinging. Give me all you've got girl, I can take it! I want neither of us to have any excuses after the purple smoke clears, especially you Amber.
And girl, do I know how you love your excuses! You always have one ready, especially to throw at me. You're always like I'm the best because Ana didn't pin me to become Champion. Erm, okay, true I guess, but then it was a steel cage match where pin falls were not the way to win the match in the first place.
She tossed your pale little tush off of a fifteen foot cage to win the title, so apparently match ending falls are totally fine when Ana is the one delivering them, but when the impact is on the other spine, suddenly it doesn't count!
Do over! Do over! I totally wasn't ready to be thrown off a ladder in a Hardcore match after I climbed!
Well guess what? What's good enough for the Goose is good enough for the Gander as my Grandma used to say.
What the hell is a Gander anyway?
That's one for Google later.
You know Amber, I can totally see why you girls get on, you real wrestling dreamers. You have both been upstaged by people who ended up living this crazy little dream of being the best professional wrestler better than both of you ever could. Between myself and Jessica Reed, we took your dreams and ran with them ourselves.
You see me raise the Diamonds World Championship again above my head triumphantly.
Ah ha! Now I get it, now all the hate, the bitterness and the contempt all makes sense! EUREKA! The penny drops! To coin a phrase from your fiercest rival - Hallelujah! You know it really is the darnedest thing but I really don't recall Jessica Reed ever saying that. Must have been in a Jess Christ Superstar parody I'm blanking on right now. I'm always doing that, you know.
You see me point at my head and then shake it.
The old memory is not what it used to be...
EhehehehehehehehehehuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Say why is Ana Valentine your greatest rival anyway? Surely it should be the one woman who you could only beat with divine intervention, no? Silly me thinking owning a victory over the only woman who is otherwise undefeated in singles competition would be worth touting heading into one of the biggest matches in your career.
Surely out of the two arguments where the other is simply "You suck Eternity" that is the one that makes the more convincing case as to why you should win at Legacy, no?
Oh sorry, I do apologise. There I go again questioning the lifelong dream of a REAL wrestler. I'm sorry, I really am. I don't mean to show you how to do your job better, it just comes naturally. Not bad for a comic book clown really, is it?
You know it has to be said I really don't see any evidence of all this legends training you've had to master your craft. I mean you are so quick to rattle off the names of who you trained with and the more I listen, the more I wonder if you actually learned anything apart from how to have your back pinned against a mattress or up against a wall?
I mean really, you take the time to attend one of the most prestigious wrestling schools in the United States and you don't learn a damn thing about how to sell your opponent as a threat and make yourself look better in the process if you beat them?
I have an excuse, I don't have the same formal training you do. Being the best damn female wrestler in the world is your little dream, not mine, and as long as you continue to underestimate me, it will be a dream you will never come to realise.
But by all means continue to dismiss me and get your panties in a twist over the little inconsequential things like how many title shots I've had. I'll just remind you that this is also your third World title shot since you've been here, we're even, in more ways than one actually because like you I EARNED every opportunity I got here in IWF.
Do I really have to remind you of the Goose and the Gander again?
You are the 2014 Heiress and I am the 2014 Iron Maiden. This is a clash of titans whether you want to believe it or not Amber, and more than that, this is actually a rubber match between us. You beat me at Metamorphosis, and I beat you the week before Night of the Immortals. We're even Stevens...err...I mean, Richards.
In fact the only real difference between us when it comes to the quest for the Diamonds World Championship is that you won it in two shots and it took me three, not really that big of a deal when you think about it, so let's not pretend that it makes all the difference in the world.
You are one of the women who can truly say they've sat at the top of both peaks in this Division, so I know what I am facing on Sunday. I'm facing an accomplished wrestler for whom nothing is ever good enough, a woman who feels so worthless and cheap in spite of all her accomplishments that she decided that rather than convince the world exactly why she deserves to be the first two time Diamonds World Champion this Sunday, she'd much rather spend her time running me down.
How broken are you doll if you can only feel good about yourself by running others down? How worthless do you feel that your entire purpose revolves around a sense of fleeting validation provided by ten pounds of gold and four pounds of leather?
It is okay Amber, it really is, you know something Amber, even when I clocked you in the face with a steel chair the last time we met in a one-on-one match, I knew we would meet again on some grand stage worthy of the both of us, and here we are.
Legacy 2014.
You stand before me having truly vanquished every other challenge they put in front of you and regardless of how I feel about you personally, you truly earned this opportunity. You deserve this chance to try and usurp Death from her Throne, and I hope you're more prepared for the challenge that lies ahead of you this Sunday than your words would suggest.
Mike Laszlo faces the unenviable chance of trying to conquer GOD but you Amber, you have the truly impossible task. GOD is defeated when nobody believes in Him, Death however is not so easily escaped because Death doesn't need your belief to strike you down, in fact Death's sense of humour is such that when you truly believe you are Immortal and that it doesn't stand a chance, that is when you die.
And your time of death is at hand.
Maybe it's for the best. Maybe it really is better this way. Maybe Amber Richards the arrogant wrestler needs to die so Amber Pleasant the loving wife and mother can be born.
Now, I understand what I must do at Legacy. I was forced to grow up with a Mommy who never came home again, and it was horrible. I will not allow little Emma to go through the same. Every little girl deserves a loving family.
Even spiteful little girls like Amber Richards.
You see me hold back the tears as I look at you.
It hurt more every time I thought about my past.
I kiss the Diamonds World Championship out in front of me and present it with both my hands to my parents.
I know they are watching me now and I know they will be watching me this Sunday.
I hope they will be proud of me, always.
I close my eyes but not before a couple of rogue tears escape and carve their way to freedom across the valleys of my cheeks.
I am at the centre of the sun once more.
Nobody could bully me here, not even Amber Richards.
Well howdy there pardner.