When a lion meets an eagle

[RedShinigami]

Standard Match
Place: Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria

Spoiler

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All preparations had been perfected. Sia sat in her private lounge, still clad in a long, flowing black robe as she took a sip from her glass of wine. The family brand of course. Family...
Sia closed her eyes. Since she was born, the duty to her family name had been indoctrinated into her and her younger brother. And even if their homecountry Austria was no Monarchy anymore and even banned the use of any nobility titles by corporal punishment, the family of "Karnstein" still stood tall. With a history that was as old as the country itself, reaching back to the year 1000 A.D., their grandfather, the last Count, had made it his personal mission to raise his grandchildren into their respective roles.

After all, only god presented someone with titles, no earthly power was able to make a king abdicate. It was not the natural order of things, according to their grandfather at least. Sia opened her eyes, looked at the dark, red liquid in her glass and let out soft laugh.
"Oh, Großvater...", she whispered. Of course she and her brother were aware that no higher power had made the family into what it was today. It was, in fact, many mundane earthly things that gave them wealth, status and influence: "Money, Corruption and Intrigue."

The House of Karnstein had always managed to stood at the right place at the right time to feather their own nest. They worked in the shadows while shining in the light for 1000 years now and things had not changed with the Karnstein siblings. When her brother became the new head of the house, Sia finally could follow her true passion that her grandfather had tried to surpress and talk her our of for years. Sia grinned.
"And now look at me...", she said with a smirk, looking back on a ten year career in professional wrestling that had made her a legend in her own right, without her family name being able to help her, except maybe the almost unlimited funds their family fortune provided her.

But what Sia had accomplished, fighting and getting titles all over the world, that was something she had done. No one else stood in that ring except her and her opponent and so often she was able to raise a belt into the air, in countries she never even had heard of before, despite her top class education. Sia looked at the pictures framed at the wall, dedicated by the city of vienna for her remarkable succeses.

She took another sip and raised her glass to a 23 year old Sia who stood tall in the ring, raising the LAW Heavyweight Title high in then air. This had been her greatest accomplishment of all. This title which she held for quite some time, was the top of the mountain for her. No other title even came close to this legendary belt.

But today all of this would come to an end. It was the natural flow of things, and even if Sia knew that she had many more good years in her, there was nothing to gain anymore. No mountain to climb, no desert to cross, no storm to overcome. Her time as active wrestler, as living legend, ended today and she would instead join her brother in building up their own Austrian Stable that both of them would manage, with Viktor representing and taking care of the financing and Sia in charge of recruiting talent and form them.

The countess grinned at her younger self.
"Prost! You did well, Gräfin.", she said and took the last sip from her glass before putting it down and letting her robe slide to the floor. The athletic,muscular naked body of a top athlete greeted Sia from the big mirror and she admired it for a second before getting into her gear.

~~~~~

The "Wiener Stadthalle" was almost bursting with fans from all around the world wanting to see the "Dark Countess" last match. Emotions were riding high especially with the homecrowd. Whoever had to face Sia today already had to face an uphill battle against the fans. And the poor soul that had been handpicked by Sia to do the honors was a young wrestler at the start of her career named Astrid Ostberg, herself member of a legendary family of wrestlers. Needless to say when it became time for her to get out into the arena first, the welcome was less then friendly.
People threw trash at her, mocking her from all sides.
"Hey Pippi Longstocking! Go back to sweden!", was among the nicest ones...

And as Astrid had to endure this "Walk of Shame", everything was prepared for the grand and final entrance of Sia von Karnstein...

[CaptainL]

Astrid had an uphill battle to face tonight.

It wasn't just the fact that she was an 18-year-old rookie in her first year as an active professional wrestler, and she was going up against a storied veteran. She was also up against the world.

She might have been a proud member of the Ostberg dynasty, but never before had a woman taken to the ring to represent the family. Astrid had grown up with stories of her father, uncle, and grandfather, all of whom were prestigious wrestlers in their day, and she had wanted nothing more than to follow in their footsteps. But no one thought she had it in her. It was no place for a girl, they said. Not even her own father was willing to train her, even when he supported her journey - because he knew that he would go easy on his own flesh and blood, and Astrid wouldn't get the right lessons from it.

But Astrid wouldn't let that deter her. She couldn't let anyone's doubts and derision slow her down. She'd rise above it all - she'd seek new trainers and new lessons to perfect her craft, so that she could carry the family name with pride. After a few long years of training, of taking falls and coming back up with bruises, of driving long hours to shows at high school gyms that barely anyone attended, Astrid had finally broken into the mainstream. She finally had the attention of someone whose name meant something in the wrestling world. And when she marched to the ring, she held that thought in her head and never let go of it.

It didn't matter if anyone laughed at her. It didn't matter if no one thought she stood a chance against Sia. It didn't matter if they heckled her, apparently not even knowing the difference between Norway and Sweden. If Sia had accepted Astrid's challenge, it meant the champion felt she was worthy of her time and attention. That was a mark that Astrid was destined for greatness; that she had it in her to be something - and tonight, she was determined to deliver on that potential.

Reaching the ring, Astrid slid under the ropes before rising to her feet and rolling her shoulders. Ahead of her, she knew, was the greatest challenge of her life. But also, perhaps, the greatest opportunity.

Spoiler