On her way out from backstage, Chelsea stopped ever so briefly to face Finella - once her rival and worst enemy, now her employee (and
that in and of itself was hard to swallow), but once again her opponent. And when she heard her actually praising her, let alone calling her "boss" without a hint of irony, Chelsea almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. It seemed absurd enough that Finella, the wild, outspoken free spirit she was, would willingly take orders from
anyone - when they were coming from
Chelsea, it seemed like something out of a dream. For a few seconds, Chelsea stared back at her wide-eyed and incredulous; even she herself needed a moment to tell herself she really was seeing what she thought she was. But soon enough, she smiled. After so many long and agonizing months of hating each other, of watching every corner for an ambush, of holding onto all the resentment and scorn in their hearts...it was a relief to finally get to let go.
"I dun think I'll ever get used ter 'earin' ye call me dat, like. But...thanks." She looked back up at Finella, and she too smiled, letting out a long sigh of relief that seemed to carry all the tension in her body with it. It really had been more than a year. Thinking back on it, Chelsea knew that to be true. In some ways it felt like it was just yesterday, and in some ways it felt as though she and Finella had been enemies all her life. But it really had been right here, in this very pub, back a few Christmases ago, that had seen their rivalry really heat up. The Capture the Flag match had started it, of course. But Chelsea could have been content with that match being one and done. It was their confrontation at the Wolf and the Bunny that proved they still had a ways to go before they were ready to close the book on their feud...but one way or another, at last, it had all come to a close. Now, she could look at Finella as a friend and a coworker...and she was looking forward to being able to do that.
...what she wasn't prepared for, though, was to have Finella insinuate that she and George would soon be taking their relationship to the next level. But when she did - and when she heard George call Molly his future sister-in-law - her face went a bright red as she sputtered out a few gasps.
"WHAAAAT!?" she yelped, loudly enough that she had to clasp her hand to her mouth in case anyone in the next room over might have heard her. For a moment, she stared back at Finella in stunned silence. What was she to say to
that? She knew that George loved her, truly, on a deeper and more emotional level than she ever thought she'd find from anyone. They might have met as friends and drinking buddies, but they had grown to be far more than that. And yet...Chelsea wasn't used to being so open about it. How would she be ready to be
married to him?
She wouldn't have much time to ponder that, though, because soon Finella was called out to the next room. And when she made her entrance, the cheers that she got soon drowned out any noise Chelsea might have made. The Englishwoman peered out the crack in the door, watching as Finella made her way down the line. And she just as quickly saw how shameless she was in flaunting her body, grinding up against the patrons; when Chelsea saw the swimsuit she had donned, she bit her lip and blushed a little harder. It easily put her own to shame! Already, Finella was winning the hearts of the fans, and all she had to do was take the easy route by playing to their baser desires! Everything seemed to be handed to her - all the success Chelsea had worked so hard for. She grit her teeth, grumbling under her breath. It was no matter. All her frustrations would do was to remind her of how emotional her rivalry had been to begin with...and that would give her all the ammunition she needed to take Finella down! Now, it was her turn to be called out the door - and Chelsea was now all the more determined to outdo Finella every way she could!
While Chelsea had always been one to favor the rowdier, more honest ways of the lower classes, tonight, she had decided to dress more the part of the position of power she held in the pub, wearing a glittering green dress that hugged her form tightly. To the sound of cheers, she sauntered out the door, shaking her hips to and fro with every step she took, and taking long strides to show off her fishnet-adorned legs as she made her way toward George. When she passed by one table, she kicked her foot up to lay her leg across its surface, drawing a gasp from one patron seated there, and she slowly and carefully ran her fingers along her leg, showing off the contours of her thighs before coming to her shoe and slipping it off. Spinning around to seat herself in a chair that was quickly cleared by its occupant for her, she brought her other foot up against the table to slowly reach up and slip off the other shoe.
Then, with a flip of her ponytail, Chelsea rose to her feet and turned toward George himself, coming up to rest against his side. She pressed her hip up against him, leaning her body weight in close - and, as she planted her hands on her hips, she leaned a little forward to slow him the zipper on the back of her dress.
"Jud, if you'd do de 'onors..." If George obliged, Chelsea would let the dress drop to her feet, leaving her clad in a green bikini emblazoned with a clover on her breast to fit the occasion!
The sight would garner a fair few cheers of its own - but as Chelsea heard them, she leaned closer against George, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him close against her as she kicked up her leg to caress it against the side of his own.
"Now, I wanna remind all o' yous blokes out thuz I'm spokun fe, so 'ands off!" she warned. After that, Chelsea stepped off of George's side, coming to stand side by side with Finella. She put her hands on her hips, eyeing the even more scantily-clad Hellraiser with a wary look. For tonight, at least, their conflict was far from over...
