I Will Earn It

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Off Camera

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It is dark, still, and quiet in this grassy field in Boston, Massachusetts.  The only illumination comes from the big bright moon shining overhead down upon the earth and upon the two lovebirds lying down upon a forest green grassy knoll.  The male, Arthur Pond, is wearing nice black pants, matching black shoes, and a red button up silk shirt.  Next to Arthur is his lovely red-headed girlfriend Marie Annabelle Jones, who happens to be wearing a knee length little black dress that fits her form to absolute perfection, hugging every curve.  Her feet are encased in black peep-toe high-heeled pumps.  Her long red hair hangs unrestrained, cascading down below the shoulders.

Lying in the grass, grass that is no doubt wet from the nighttime dew, is not doing any favors to the nice clothes they are wearing, but they do not seem to care.  These two lovebirds do not have a care in the world.  And why should they?  Meeting one another seemed to be destiny.

Oddly enough, Marie has her sociopathic sister Kimberly Williams to thank for her and Arthur hooking up that night in a Boston pub.  Marie refused to tell him her real name, though.  She pretended to be Kimberly.  Her fear was an unnecessary fear, unjustified fear, all stemming from the other men she had dated, all of whom abandoned her before.  She felt that maybe if Arthur knew who she really was, he would run too.  And when her big lie came to light and Arthur found out who she really was, Marie was certain that he would be angry with her and that he would leave her.

He wasn't angry.  It was as if he was incapable of being angry.  He loved her for who she was, whether her name was Marie Annabelle Jones, Kimberly Williams, or anything else, Arthur loved her for who she was and not for her name.

What's more is that Arthur seems to adore her son, Sean Connor Jones.  He didn't leave her because of who she was and he didn't leave her because of her son Sean.  The two have only grown closer as they continued to date and tonight, sitting out here in this grassy open field in Boston, Massachusetts, gazing up into the night sky at the stars and moon hanging high overhead, Marie begins to wonder, has she finally found Mr. Right?

“Tonight was wonderful, Arthur.”

Arthur can be heard chuckling.

“I thought a successful and famous wrestler like yourself would be bored to tears with these fancy dinner parties.”

Marie turns her head towards Arthur, grinning from ear to ear.

“Nothing I do with you is boring.  Ever.”

“I find that hard to believe.” He begins. “You travel the world competing for and winning championships.  You are a member of one of Boston’s most famous families.  And yet you chose to be with me?”

Marie leans over ever so slightly and kisses him on the cheek.

“Don’t sell yourself short, babe.  I may be a wrestler, I may get to travel the world, and yes, I am even a champion right now for UWA, but I would trade it all away for the one thing you have that I don’t.”

“What’s that?”

“Stability.” Marie says without batting an eye. “You have a stable family life and a normal relationship with your parents.  My father is dead, my mom is crazy, and I am a single mother myself trying to balance raising little Sean with being a pro-wrestler.  I want what you have.  I want stability.”

Stability is one thing that Marie has been after for a very long time.  Marie sets her priorities perhaps slightly different from wrestlers.  Winning is not of top priority for her.  It may be high up on the list but it never has been number one.  Number one for her is, has been, and always will be maintaining and managing her family, specifically her son Sean Connor Jones.

Sean is in a similar situation to Marie in that his father is no longer in the picture.  His father is dead.  Unlike Marie, though, Sean’s father was a rapist.   Marie was raped when she was much younger and her strong religious conviction would not allow her to abort the child.  She did not feel it was the child’s fault she was raped.  Why take it out on the child by aborting it and not allowing it the chance to live?  Quite honestly, Marie has enjoyed Sean.  She adores him and loves him.  Everything she does in the sport of professional wrestling is for him.

As a wrestler, prioritizing life outside the ring with life inside of the ring can be difficult.  For Marie, a single mother, it is damn near impossible and perhaps that is partially why she never did manage to become IWC World Champion, even after a breakout year last year which culminated in a final four finish in the Last Stand Rumble, a main event performance at Invictus, and an epic showdown with Vanilla Skyy.  Most would argue Marie only has herself to blame by placing her trust in men like Ethan Von Aaron and Silas Mason last year.

Nevertheless, that was last year and it isn’t just a new year that has dawned but a new era altogether as the Uprising Brand of IWC, which Marie belonged, has split away to form its own entity, the Uprising Wrestling Alliance.  This upcoming Last Stand event will perhaps be the last time the two rosters of UWA and IWC will compete under one roof and Marie knows that this will be the chance not only to make an impact but to earn another world championship match against the UWA World Champion.

“You know what, Arthur?”

“Hmmm?”

Arthur turns his head to look at Marie.  Marie’s attention is focused at the night sky as she stares upward.

“I look up into the sky tonight, at the stars and at the moon, and the enormity of everything that I have gone through and that I am about to go through hits me.”

Arthur furrows his brow out of curiosity.

“What do you mean?”

She turns her head back to face Arthur.

“Does God really exist?”

“Huh?”

“No, seriously, think about it, God is supposed to be a just God and a fair God, right?  But consider what I have done in the past.  I tried to seriously injure people like Katelyn Buehler, Taylor Cruze, and Brittany Lohan.  I sold my soul to devils like Ethan Von Aaron and Silas Mason just to get a quick and easy route to the top of IWC.  I did so many horrible things to so many people and yet here I am, one half of UWA’s tag champions with Sophie James.  Sophie didn't have to team with me but she did...”

“In all fairness, isn't Sophie a horrible person anyway?”

Arthur winks but Marie just frowns.

“Don't be a smart ass!”

“Sorry!”

Arthur chuckles while Marie just shakes her head.

“Anyway, here I am with just as good a chance as anyone else to take the next step, win Last Stand, and get that world championship match I have been coveting for so long.”

She shakes her head.

“I don’t deserve it and yet I am getting this opportunity.  It isn't fair to those great wrestlers who played by the rules and who did what was right.  So tell me, Arthur.  Tell me, does God really exist?”

Marie's question catches Arthur off guard.  The young red head is more religious than Arthur and thus she thinks about these types of things much more than he does.  For Marie, the existence of God as well as God's justice is important to her.  She wants to believe in a just God and she isn't sure a just God would allow someone who has committed so many crimes in the sport of wrestling to continue to be as successful as she is.

Arthur stares directly into Marie's eyes for an indeterminate amount of time.  There is a tension that passes but not a negative one.  This tension is one full of love and adoration as they both consider what the other one is thinking and they both consider the expressions on the other's face.  After thinking long and hard about what his next response should be, a wide and loving grin forms across his face.

“Do you know what I see when I look at you?”

“Some vile person?  A villain?”

Arthur shakes his head.

“No...what I see when I look at you is evidence of the existence of God.”

Marie shakes her head and laughs.

“Quit joking, Arthur...”

“No, I'm being serious.”

He sits up and motions for Marie to do the same.  Jones sits up as well and they continue staring into each other's eyes.

“I may not be as devoted to my faith as you are, Marie, but I know enough to realize that Christianity, true Christianity, is not primarily about an angry God punishing sinners.  True Christianity is about repentant individuals asking for and receiving forgiveness from God.”

He reaches out and runs his hand through Marie's long red hair.

“You have done wrong but God has forgiven you, professional wrestling has forgiven you, and it is time that you forgive yourself.”

The young Jones laughs and shakes her head.

“You say that as if it's easy...”

“I know it isn't easy.  Trust me, I have been where you're at.  Once upon a time it was me having to find the guts to forgive myself.  And even to this day I'm not sure that I truly deserve a woman like you.”

“Why would you say a thing like that?  You're perfect.  My handsome knight in shining armor.”

Arthur takes in a deep breath and sighs.

“You look at me as your knight in shining armor but there was one time, a year before I met you, that I was dating another girl.”

Pain begins to form upon his face.

“I was abusive towards her...physically and verbally...”

Maire holds her hand over her mouth and gasps.

“Arthur...”

“...yeah.  We broke up but last I heard she committed suicide and...”

He shakes his head, clearly distraught.

“...I can't help but think I was to blame.”

“Oh my...”

Marie embraces her boyfriend Arthur in a tight hug.

“...it's ok.  It wasn't your fault.”

“My mind tells me that but my heart says otherwise.  It has only been up to just recently that I have been able to begin to move past that time in my life and yet I still haven't been able to fully forgive myself.”

Marie stands up.  She takes Arthur by her wrists and gently tugs, imploring him to stand up as well.  When he does so, the two staring into one another's eyes, Marie is the first to break the silence...

“Then maybe it's time we start forgiving ourselves?”

“And maybe it's time we left the past in the past and look forward into our future?”

Marie smirks.

“You're reading my mind.”

Arthur leans down and Marie leans up.  Their lips meet and a touching, passionate, romantic kiss is exchanged.  Tongues are exchanged.  Love is exchanged as they hug each other tightly.  Eventually the kiss and the embrace is broken.  Arthur laughs lightly.

“Honestly Marie, looking at you here tonight, looking as lovely as the first time I ever met you...”

“Awww, thanks sweetie...”

“...and looking at you and realizing that tonight is the night that we both forgive ourselves and we leave the past in the dust, forgetting it forever, I think now is truly the best time to do something I have been thinking about for a long time...”

Marie looks on curiously.

“What's that?”

Just as suddenly as you may expect something like this to occur, Arthur Pond gets down on one knee and takes Marie by her hand.  Marie's eyes grow wide in shock as she slowly begins to realize what her boyfriend is about to ask...

“Marie Annabelle Jones...”

“..oh my God...”

“...will you marry me?”

“I...uh...I...”

Marie stares into Arthur's hopeful eyes for a long time before finally nodding her head vehemently.

“...yes!  Yes, damnit, yes!  I'll marry you!”

Arthur Pond stands up.  The smile etched across his face will have to be surgically removed as he stares into the eyes of his former girlfriend now future bride Marie Annabelle Jones.  As for Marie herself, tears are flowing down her cheek as she is full of happiness and joy.  She had always wanted a man, a husband ideally but a man at least to be there for her and mainly for her son Sean so that he would have a father figure growing up.  Now he has that father figure.  Arthur Pond can be Sean's step-father and Marie's husband.

In a romantic move, Arthur now bends over and scoops Marie up into his arms in one fell swoop.  Marie lets out a yelp of surprise as she wraps her arms around his head and neck for support.  She gazes lovingly into his eyes.  She has the utmost faith that he will not drop her and that as long as she is with him, he will protect her.

“Shall we go to the carriage, milady?”

Arthur asks playfully.  Marie chuckles and nods her head.

“Yes, we shall!”

Arthur turns and, with Marie still in his arms, walks down from off the grassy knoll in the field and begins to head towards his car, which is located not too far away.  In fact, it can be seen from the knoll where they were just sitting.  It is parked on a dirt road a few yards away.  And Marie, all she has to do is relax and allow herself to be carried.  All she has to do is relax and allow herself to be treated like a queen, like royalty.  Someone loves her for who she is and she enjoys this.  It makes her feel special.

The pair make it to the car and Arthur gently puts her back down on her feet.  He then reaches over and opens the passenger's side door for her.  Marie kisses him again on the lips before getting inside.  Arthur leans over and whispers into her ear...

“I love you...”

Arthur shuts the door and walks over to the driver's side.  He opens the door and gets inside.  He reaches for his keys but is then startled by the sound of screeching tires off in the distance.

“Did you hear that?”

Marie nods her head, looking out the window for the source of the sound.  Then she and Arthur look forward and notice one car coming their way...

“LOOK OUT!”

Marie turns around and looks out the back window and sees another car coming that direction...

“BEHIND US TOO!”

Marie and Arthur try to get the doors opened but are too slow.  The cars slam into them at the same time, one in front and one in back, sandwiching them inside in what appears to be a really bad wreck.  It isn't long until two men, one from each car, gets out.  Neither looks too good as they are stumbling about.  Both are wearing dark clothing, perhaps to avoid being recognized.

One of the men goes to the passenger's side door and notices Marie slumped over.  He calls out to his friend.

“The whore is over here...”

The man's partner walks over and joins him.  They open the passenger's side door and jerk Marie out of the car as roughly as possible. One man holds her in place as the other punches her as hard as he can repeatedly, again and again, over and over, in her stomach.  Eventually the drop her.  She tries to push herself up onto her hands and knees and but one of the men kicks her hard in the ribcage.  Marie begins coughing up blood...

“LEAVE HER ALONE!”

Finally Arthur has managed to pull himself out of the vehicle.   He stumbles over to the passenger's side, hoping to defend Marie, but in his current condition, and against the two on one odds, you can guess how this will turn out.

As soon as Arthur gets over there, one of the men turns and blasts him with a right hand that drops him to the ground.  He tries to get up but the other man kicks him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

“Our advice, comrade...dump the Jones bitch, or your life will become a lot more exciting, and not in a good way.”

The man who said that looks over at his partner.

“Do you think the message will be received?”

The other one nods his head.

“Loud and clear, comrade.  Loud and clear.”

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On Camera

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The camera rolls in front of an IWC Last Stand logo.  Marie Annabelle Jones then steps into view from stage right.  She is wearing a shimmering bandage design black knee length skirt that stops just above the knee, a jersey top featuring a deep v-neck and contrast elastic waist that creates a flirty peplum silhouette.  Her feet are encased in black high heeled pumps.  Her long gorgeous red hair hangs unrestrained down to shoulder length.  Her UWA World Tag Team Championship belt hangs over her right shoulder.  Jones turns her back to the camera and gazes at the IWC Last Stand logo backdrop.

“hmmm…something is wrong with this…”

The redhead continues to stare at the backdrop for a few more moments before taking a step back, as if trying to get a better look.  Then she snaps her fingers, feigning the appearance of finally figuring it out.

“I know what it is!”

She turns her attention to the left and makes a waving motion towards someone standing just off camera.

“Over here, ladies!” She exclaims. “And bring the spray paint!”

And it isn’t long until Kimberly Williams and Sophie James come hopping and skipping into the scene.  They stand next to Marie, each with cans of spray paint in hand, and look up as Marie points towards the IWC Last Stand logo backdrop.

“Fix that!”

Sophie and Kimberly exchange looks.  They look back at the backdrop and nod their heads.  Kimberly first uses black spray paint to cover up the “IWC” part of the logo.  Sophie then uses blue spray paint to write the initials “UWA” on the backdrop.  Marie nods her head, looking pleased, and then turns towards Sophie and Kimberly.

“Good job, ladies.  You’re excused.”

Kimberly and Sophie high five one another and then they turn and walk off screen.  Marie turns back to face the camera.

“Yeah, that was a major issue with me.  This isn’t IWC Last Stand anymore because the Uprising Wrestling Alliance has come along and we are not going to back down!  When we first stood up as a brand we took the Independent Wrestling Cartel by storm!  Hell, we became so popular and so powerful that IWC could not contain us!  There was no other option but for us to move on, to expand, and to grow.  And grow we have.  We have grown to the extent that we are now our own company, our own force to be reckoned with outside of the constraints of the IWC.  At the very least this should be IWC and UWA Present Last Stand but, I’m willing to go one step further…”

Marie chuckles lightly and holds up one finger.

“…I am willing to go one step further.  I don’t know about the rest of my fellow UWA superstars but I’m willing to go that next step and say that this is, by all accounts, going to be UWA Presents Last Stand, because I have every confidence in this roster, the greatest roster in professional wrestling, that we will dominate the Last Stand Rumble!”

Kimberly and Sophie quietly step back into the scene.  Sophie and Kimberly turn and pull down their pants, mooning the camera.

“Now I…”

Marie happens to turn around and notices Kimberly and Sophie, just now beginning to pull their pants up.  Marie is aghast.

“GIRLS!  NO!”

Marie rushes towards them and tries to shove them off screen.

“GO! GO! GO! GO!”

Once she finally gets Sophie and Kimberly off screen, she walks back to the center and tries unsuccessfully to regain her composure.  She turns back to face the camera and smiles sheepishly.

“Let’s just pretend that didn’t happen.  Anyway, now that we have fixed that…”

Marie points to the backdrop and then sighs and motions to the left side of the screen where the other two ladies had just been shoved away.

“…and now that we fixed that…”

Marie nods her head.

“… I can focus on Last Stand.  You see, the Last Stand Rumble is the biggest challenge in all of professional wrestling.  I should know because I competed in it last year and last year I came this close to winning the whole thing…”

She holds her thumb and first finger close together to indicate how close she came last year in the rumble match.

“...but I failed.  I failed to win it all and yeah, I was down on myself but, to be honest, I had no reason to be down on myself.  The Last Stand Rumble is a huge challenge.  So many of the best athletes in all of professional wrestling.  Any and all alliances are thrown out of the window because there can only be one winner and if you can endure the pain and the punishment, if you can endure the exhaustion and everything that’s thrown your way, if you can manage to survive and win the whole thing, then you have a chance to make your dreams come true.  The winner will get a shot at the world championship.  Last year Katelyn Buehler won the Last Stand Rumble and she would go on to become world champion at IWC Invictus.”

Marie shakes her head.

“Not this year…this year there will be no Invictus fairy tale ending for anyone at all and that’s because an IWC superstar will NOT win the Last Stand Rumble!  The Last Stand Rumble will be won by The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling!  The Last Stand Rumble will be won by me, UWA’s Phoenix, and I will go on to main event UWA’s first pay per view Olympus for the UWA World Championship.  And oh I hope, I do so hope that Vanilla Skyy is the champion.  No offense, Gavin, you’re cool and all, but I need to know if I can beat Vanilla one on one.  One time I did manage to beat her was tainted thanks to Jackson Adams’s participation making it a damn handicap match.  Another time Alana Starr was involved, making it a triple threat, and while Vanilla won, who knows how it would turn out if it were just one on one and that’s what I want, I want me and Vanilla Skyy one on one and winning the Last Stand Rumble will allow me to make that happen!”

Marie is on a roll but, unfortunately, she is once again interrupted as Kimberly and Sophie step into the scene.  This time they go to lift up their shirts to try and flash the camera.  Lucky for Marie, she catches them in time…

“Oh no, no, no…”

Marie rushes over and shoves him off screen before they can get their tops off.  Marie sighs as she walks back to the center and turns to face the camera.  She laughs lightly.

“It’s hard to get good help these days!”

Marie suddenly frowns as she grows more intense and more serious.

“Ladies and gentlemen, last year was not my proudest of years.  I was a childish brat and I broke any and every rule possible in an attempt to try and get the world heavyweight championship.  And despite every effort I made, despite utilizing Ethan Von Aaron, Silas Mason, and manipulating people who used to be my friends, people like Brittany Lohan, despite all of that I failed in each and every attempt at becoming world champion.  I have nothing to show for it.  But that was last year and I refuse to be defined by last year.  This is a new year and a new day has dawned.  I will get another shot at the world championship but this time I will earn it the right way.  I will earn it by beating any and every competitor that gets in my way in the IWC Last Stand Rumble.  And when I win the IWC Last Stand Rumble,  I will go on to main event UWA Olympus and win the world championship.  Am I making some pretty grand claims?”

Marie nods her head.

“Yeah, hell my mouth may be writing checks my ass can’t cash.  But I am saying right here and right now that I will win the rumble and I will go on to become the UWA World Champion.  And I will do it the right way.  I will earn it.  I will earn it because I can, because I am The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling.”