Monster Heel-in-Law (Part 1)

The aura was wild, yet magical, at the weekly show for Infinity Women's Wrestling. The main event was a captivating one, as Cassie Horn, a highly popular fan favorite in IWW, faced off against Kristina Richards, an arrogant spoiled princess. Both women started their careers at the same time, each one had six years under her belt, and they had went through each other on more than one occasion, either for title contention or for actual titles.

However, this was different. This encounter had something personal in the air, and it wasn't a "heated" type of personal. Kristina's heel teasing was halfway on the playful side, though she brought the physicality to her opponent.

"So, dear Cassie," Kristina sneered as she placed Cassie in a headlock, "you want to share something with these peasants?!" The dialogue was loud enough to draw heat from the fans, with Kristina demanding silence as she continued her hold on Cassie, though Cassie managed to fight out of the hold with a head scissors.

"These people have a right to know!" declared Cassie, loud enough to get cheers from the crowd. "And I'm going to tell them whether you like it or not... Krissy." Kristina gasped in shock over Cassie's words. You could slap her, punch her, even strike her with a chair. But whatever you do...

"Don't call me Krissy!!!"

An enraged Kristina lunged at Cassie, who tossed her off the ropes and delivered a German suplex right afterwards. Following the suplex, Cassie delivered a moonsault to Kristina, and that ended up being enough to pick up the victory. Cassie's time to celebrate her win was brief, as she quickly grabbed a microphone, as well as her jacket, just as Kristina was about to walk off.

"Hold it right there, Krissy!" said Cassie. "As I said, I have something to say, and I want everyone to hear it, including and especially you." Kristina re-entered the ring and stood across from Cassie with an almost knowing expression, as Cassie continued on.

"It's no secret that Kristina and I have been together for a year now," Cassie said to an awestruck crowd. "With all of her bluster, her arrogance, and her prissy attitude, I love this woman so much. And that makes what I'm about to say so easy." Cassie reached into one of her jacket pockets and pulled out a beautiful diamond ring, and with the crowd cheering loudly, Cassie got down on one knee.

"Kristina Marie Richards," said Cassie, "will you marry me?"

Kristina was in tears, happy ones, over the gesture. She knew that Cassie was going to go public with their relationship, but the proposal, of course, was a complete surprise. The crowd chanted, "Yes, she will!," repeatedly, and for once, Kristina gave the fans what they wanted.

"Yes, Cassandra Louise Horn," said Kristina, "yes, I will marry you."

The ring was placed on Kristina's finger, and the two women gave a tearful and emotional kiss to each other, with the crowd applauding their public show of their love and relationship. Social media and wrestling sites were all over this, and the couple gained a lot of attention. This included one person who watched the proposal intensely from what appeared to be a dark lair, and they seemed to be quite intrigued.

"Cassie Horn, do I have plans for you."

Two weeks passed, and an engagement party was thrown to celebrate Cassie and Kristina's upcoming nuptials, though a date wasn't set yet. The party was at the Horn household, and regarding the happy couple, they were approached by Cassie's parents, Patricia and Chester Horn, both wrestlers in their own right.

"Cassie, dear girl," Patricia said as she hugged her daughter. "Major congratulations in so many ways." Patricia then turned her attention to Kristina, and couldn't help but beam as she looked at her future daughter-in-law.

"Welcome to the family, Kristina," Patricia said as she gave Kristina a big hug. "You are not only amazing in the ring, you make Cassie so happy."

"Thanks so much, Patricia," replied Kristina.

"Where's your mother?" asked Patricia. "Running fashionably late per usual?"

"You know Mom," said Kristina. "She does like to make an entrance." At that moment, Patricia got the attention of the guests, and started to make her announcement.

"Everyone, I'd just like to say that this is a wondrous occasion. Cassie and Kristina may be rivals in the ring, but outside of it, they are two wonderful girls who have a lot of love in their hearts for each other. So with that..."

"Hold it right there, Horn!"

Patricia heard a commanding voice shout from the doorway, and the attention turned to the very person who entered: Vonda Richards, Kristina's mother. Flanked by her older daughters Vanessa (age 31) and Serena (age 29), Vonda made her entrance as only she could: with her nose in the air and carrying the very crown she proudly showed off since winning Queen of the Ring in 1997. At age 53, Vonda still carries the same villainous aura that not only got her the crown, but also eight World Championships.

"Glad you could make it, Vonda," said Patricia.

"I always love a good entrance," said Vonda. "You know that better than anyone, Pretty Patty." Vonda's statement was a personal one, as while she had many rivals in her career, her biggest one was Patricia. The roles were always the same; Patricia as the beloved heroine, Vonda as the villainess who loved plaguing Patricia, with "Pretty Patty" always being Vonda's nickname of choice for Patricia.

"Anyway," said Vonda, "this toast is not happening without the other matriarch, so I'll say, to my precious princess, my youngest, Kristina. May you and Cassie have many years of married bliss together, and may you become a true power couple!" Everyone raised their glasses to both toasts, with Vonda giving a bit of a knowing look at Cassie. The party went by without a hitch, as it saw guests telling jokes and swapping stories, mostly from wrestling. Cassie was telling guests how she and Kristina's relationship blossomed, only for Vonda to enter the scene.

"Excuse me," Vonda said in a tone that was quite saccharine, "I want to borrow my daughter's future bride-to-be for a woman-to-woman talk." Vonda and Cassie went to the backyard, and once there, Vonda circled Cassie, doing so less like a woman addressing her future daughter-in-law, and more like a predator studying her prey.

"Well, well, little Cassie Horn," said Vonda. "Pretty Patty's little girl is all grown up. I remember when you and Kristina were both knee high, and now both of you are following in our footsteps, and now set to marry each other."

"Vonda, Kristina is my everything," said Cassie, "and I love her very much."

"Oh, don't get me wrong," said Vonda. "I know that you love my baby girl. But what I want to know is, do you know what you signed up for?" Vonda walked closer to Cassie, smirking wickedly while doing so.

"You know what I've done to your mother, right?" Vonda asked in a sinister tone. "The pain she's felt week in, week out? The bruises you'd see when she went home? I did that. And all because she was the main obstacle in my way." Cassie did have some childhood memories of seeing her mother's matches with Vonda, who continued to make her point.

"And here you are," Vonda said, "a chip of the old block. Just like your mother in every way, shape, and form."

"You're right, Vonda," said Cassie. "I do know what you've done to my mom and others over the years. You're one of the most ruthless women in the ring, and you have my respect. But you're right about another thing. I am like my mom: she's not afraid of you and neither am I."

Vonda's smirk remained intact as Cassie made her statement. She seemed to wear an expression of what appeared to be admiration, but it was hard to tell. In any event, Vonda gave an ominous chuckle as she whispered the following response in Cassie's ear:

"That'll change."

A couple of weeks passed after the engagement party, and Cassie kept her exchange with Vonda a secret from Kristina. As for Cassie's night, she won a 15 minute match against Hannah Starling, and she was on top of the world with another win under her belt. However, once Cassie was backstage, a mysterious masked figure placed her in a full nelson, while a second culprit delivered punches to Cassie. Cassie delivered kicks to her attackers, and nearly escaped, only for the pair to capture Cassie and toss her in the backseat of their car.

"Where are you taking me?!" Cassie shouted as the drive went on.

"You'll find out soon enough," the culprit in the passenger's seat answered.

They finally arrived at their destination, an abandoned warehouse, and the duo took Cassie out of the car and carried her inside. Cassie again attempted to fight off her captors, and actually managed to unmask one of them.

"Vanessa?!"

"Surprise, sister-in-law," Vanessa smirked, after which her co-hort's mask was removed, revealing Vanessa's sister, Serena.

"Now, now," Serena said sweetly, yet sinisterly, "She's not our sister-in-law yet. But she is our victim right now!"

"Where's Kristina?!" asked Cassie. "Is she part of this?!"

"Not even close!"

Cassie turned her attention to that booming voice, and out came Vonda, donning a black bodysuit and cape, as well as her signature crown.

"So, Cassandra," said Vonda. "Do you fear me now?"

"What do you want, Vonda?" asked Cassie.

"Simple," said Vonda. "If you're going to marry my daughter, you need to know what you're marrying into. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate that you didn't tell Kristina about our little exchange. I know how much you make Kristina so happy, but I also know this: you can't handle me, and you know it."

"I'm getting married to a heel, aren't I?" asked Cassie.

"You certainly are, dear Cassie," replied Vonda. "But who do you think taught her everything? I taught all of my girls the villainous tricks of the trade."

"And my mom taught me to handle everything, including you," Cassie said. "Just like my mom handled you in 2006." That statement drew gasps from Vanessa and Serena, because they remember that Vonda dominated as World Champion for most of that year, but it was Patricia who ended that reign.

"Oh, you really are your mother's daughter," Vonda said in a low snarl. "That and your relationship with my youngest is exactly why you're still standing right now, because I've destroyed others for much less! You think you can handle your mother's greatest foe?! Prove it! Two weeks from now, you and me, one-on-one! No rules, anything goes!"

Cassie didn't have to think about it for long. "I accept," she said.

Vonda gave a wicked chuckle at Cassie, before finally giving the signal to her older daughters to release her. "That's Mistake #1, daughter-in-law," Vonda taunted. "But you're young. You'll learn from this. I'll make sure of that." Cassie walked out of the warehouse, but Vonda wasn't done teasing.

"Run along, little Cassie Horn! Prepare yourself for the ultimate display: you bowing to Queen Vonda!"

Cassie heard Vonda's cackling from afar, but all that did was motivate her. That and her love for Kristina kept her going, as she was now in for the ultimate test. In two weeks, Cassie would face off against a living legend, her mother's greatest rival, as well as the very woman who will be her mother-in-law. Clearly, this is the biggest match of Cassie's young career, and as she walked off, she had many things on her mind. Does she actually have in it her to do whatever it takes against Vonda? Would she actually be able to look past the fact that Vonda is her eventual mother-in-law? Cassie knew this: she had just 14 short days to answer those questions.

Check out Part 2 below!