Serena: Part 4 (Julia Braddock CD)

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Roslin, Scotland
Off Camera
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Julia Braddock had tried to do things the right way, the way of her father, the legendary Glenn Braddock. Yet lately she had been met with failure and disappointment. She lost the GCW World Tag Team Championships, she failed to earn a shot at the GCW World Championship, and all of it is thanks, in large part, to cheating and underhanded tactics, the kind of tactics Julia Braddock had swore to never ever use. Now she has to sit on the sidelines and watch as Aubrianna Powers, a woman who cheated her way through the entire Deadly Dreams tournament, gets an opportunity she doesn’t deserve. Even Alexander Jones and his team seem to agree that it shouldn’t have been Powers, that it should have always been Julia Braddock with the title opportunity. Instead of being in the limelight with the world title shot she rightfully deserves, Braddock is sitting on the sidelines, just watching and still waiting for a chance. Yet she is supposed to be The Face of GCW. Braddock still believes that she is The Face of GCW, but how will she maintain that status? How will she retain her spot as The Face of GCW when disappointments keep hitting her from left and right? Braddock is doing the only thing she can do, the only thing that makes sense to her; she’s giving in. She is giving in to the metaphorical “devil on her shoulders”, that temptation always whispering in her ear, her alter ego Chastity Noel. If her father’s way has failed, then maybe Chastity’s methods will work better?

Now it is Chastity who has taken the reins. Now it is Chastity who is in control of Julia Braddock’s psyche and she has taken full advantage. Already she has sent a message to the roster of GCW with her newfound aggression. With Julia unable to do anything to stop her, Chastity plans to run her private, personal life as well. Chastity has been eager to continue the training of her adopted daughter, Serena. Serena was caught a couple years ago snooping around in Chastity’s charity headquarters, The Julia Foundation in Roslin, Scotland. She could have pressed charges but she didn’t; after all, Serena had nothing, absolutely nothing, to give. She was homeless. She had nothing. Instead Chastity took pity upon her and adopted her, swearing to make a better life for the formerly homeless child. Serena has certainly learned how to be a classy young lady instead of the street rat she once was but she had forgotten how to defend herself, she forgot how to fight back, which made it nearly impossible for her to follow in her adopted mother’s footsteps into the wrestling business. Julia Braddock began the process by training Serena for life as an active wrestler and Serena took to the lessons quickly. Now Chastity has begun the process of teaching Serena how to navigate the rough waters of backstage politics and the business side of wrestling. Chastity hopes that when all is finished, Serena will be ready for her future life in wrestling, whether it is as a manager or as an active wrestler herself, she will be able to conquer the landscape of the business.

Chastity Noel is walking the halls of The Julia Foundation headquarters. She is dressed in a black knee length skirt, sheer pantyhose, black high heel pumps, and a pink blouse. Her long blonde hair is left to hang straight and styled nicely, falling to just past the shoulders. A confident smirk is etched across her face. Chastity finds Anna Bower, her trusted advisor and loyal servant guarding her office door where, she presumes, she will find Serena inside.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Bower.”

“Greetings, Ms. Noel.” Ms. Bower bows her head in reverence.

“May I see my daughter?”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but your daughter is quite busy at the moment handling some of the day to day business of the company, as per your instructions.”

“I see.” Chastity grins with pride. “How long has it been now? About a month, I believe?”

“Just a little under a month, yes.” Ms. Bower nods her head. “She spent the entire month of August working with you at your father’s wrestling school and spent most of September here at the office learning from me about the inner working of the cutthroat world of business and how to navigate the harsh politics of the corporate life.”

“I appreciate you handling this for me, Anna. I am not the corporate whiz that my sister Lindsey or our mother Aphrodite are. I would not want to bother them with this; but you are quite good with this as well.”

“Thank you for the compliments, Mistress, but really it is no problem and it is my pleasure to work with young Serena.”

“How well is she learning?”

“She is a fast learner.” Bower points out. “The finer points of running a charity, or a business such as a modeling agency, or working backstage as a manager in a wrestling company will differ, obviously, but dealing with the bloodthirsty ruthless politics of business is pretty much the same no matter what kind of business one is involved with. She will be able to defend herself against the sharks she may encounter when she returns to wrestling.”

“Excellent. Her skills in the ring, combined with her skills outside the ring, all of that combined will make certain that she can excel and conquer wherever she happens to go.”

Before either Chastity or Anna can say anything else, they are interrupted when the office door opens. They turn to see Serena Grace Noel, Chastity’s adopted daughter, emerging from within. A big grin is on her face, happy to see her mother. “Mother! I thought I heard your voice!” Serena approaches and gives Chastity a big hug.

“I just thought I would stop in for a visit. You’re doing well, I take it?”

“Yes. I have learned so much from Anna and Gary.” Serena then turns to face Anna Bower. “Anna, thank you for helping me.”

“Of course, Serena.”

“Now leave.” Serena commands. “Mother and I have much to discuss.”

“But Serena, you have so much to do today, shouldn’t you…”

“I said you are dismissed!” Serena says in a much more commanding tone. Chastity grins with pride upon hearing it. Bower bows her head.

“Yes, Ms. Noel…” and with that, Ms. Bower turns and walks away. Serana turns and enters the office with Chastity following closely behind. Once they are both behind closed doors Chastity sits down at her desk. Serena tilts her head to one side and studies her, looking almost incredulous.

“My desk?”

“My desk.” Chastity says, correcting her. “Do not forget the pecking order.”

“Of course. My apologies, mother.”

“No need for the apology, Serena. I love the newfound confidence you have been showing this past month. Its the one thing that you have been lacking, the one thing that you needed in order to be a success, not just in wrestling but in whatever you choose to attempt. You need confidence. Now that you have it you can be a great wrestler, or a successful manager. Whicher path you choose to go down in your wrestling career, you will succeed as long as you have confidence.” She holds up one finger. “But there is still one thing you cannot lose sight of and that is your in-ring work.”

“Are we returning to the gym?” Serena’s eyes light up at the prospect of returning to the Glenn Braddock Wrestling School to resume working on her fighting skills. “I know it is important to learn how to navigate the politics of the backstage and all that, but I enjoyed working with you in the ring so much and I cannot wait to get back to that!”

“I hate to disappoint you but yes, you will return to the ring and return to training, but it will not be with me.”

“What?” Serena’s grin turns into a frown.

“Serena, in order to be prepared for wrestling, especially in the ring, you need to be a well rounded fighter. You need to learn from various wrestling styles. I am a technical wrestler with some striking thrown in. But you won’t just encounter that style in the ring. You might even find that technical wrestling isn’t your strongest suit. You might discover you are great at high flying or brawling or the like. You also need to learn how to defend against such attacks. Its best to immerse yourself into a new environment by working with other wrestlers with different styles. I am going to have you work with Mark O’Brian, he is a powerhouse and a brawler. I am also going to have you spend time with your aunt Lindsey’s friend Matthew Taylor, he is a high risk daredevil. Between those two, as well as your continued work with me, your experience and knowledge in the ring will grow.”