To Have and to Hold

Five months passed since Cassie Horn stepped in the ring with the legendary Vonda Richards, the mother of Cassie's fiancée, Kristina Richards. The seeds were planted by Vonda right after Cassie proposed to Kristina, and the challenge was made right after. Despite Vonda's devious mind games and her repeated taunts about her past rivalry with Cassie's mother, Patricia Horn, Cassie emerged victorious against Vonda in a bout that saw the rulebook completely thrown out.

The match gained a lot of buzz in the time that passed, but the only thing on Cassie's mind was officially tying the proverbial knot with Kristina. The ceremony took place live in front of a massive crowd, and regarding the people involved, Dianne Worley, the General Manager of Infinity Women's Wrestling, performed the ceremony. Cassie entered, donning a simple white dress, and was flanked by her maids of honor, fellow wrestlers Tanya Fitzpatrick and Lana Hebert, as well as her parents, Patricia and Chester Horn. As for Kristina, she made her entrance in a wedding dress fit for the evil princess she was portraying, and her camp consisted of her sisters, Vanessa and Serena Richards, and of course, her mother, Vonda Richards.

"We are gathered here," Dianne began, "to join this couple together in holy matrimony." Dianne turned to Cassie first.

"Cassandra Louise Horn," said Dianne, "do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded partner in life?"

"I do," Cassie said sweetly.

"Kristina Marie Richards," Dianne said to Kristina, "do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded partner in life?"

"I do," Kristina said fondly and confidently.

"Then by the power invested in me by Infinity Women's Wrestling," said Dianne, "I now pronounce you married, and you may seal it with a kiss!"

The fans erupted in cheers, as Cassie Horn and Kristina Richards became spouses, with the pair kissing for the first time as a married couple. Following the first kiss, Cassie grabbed a microphone and addressed the crowd.

"Thank you so much, everyone!" exclaimed Cassie. "And thank you all for attending our wedding! I am just on top the world!"

"I'll bet you are," said Kristina. "Especially after what you did to my mom!" The crowd gave their "oohs" over Kristina's biting words, which were met with an eye roll from Cassie.

"Here we go," said Cassie. "I knew we'd get on this eventually."

"I just want to know," Kristina said, "did you really enjoy forcing my mother to beg for mercy? To plead for leniency in front of all of these peasants?!"

"If you actually listened, Krissy," Cassie replied, "you would have remembered that I told Vonda how much I respect her. Of course, we know that listening isn't your strong suit." Cassie's comment drew laughs from the crowd, though the biggest laughs came from Tanya and Lana.

"I wonder who she gets that from!" Tanya said to Lana, which drew the ire of Vonda.

"Silence!" snarled Vonda. "First off, you two little girls need to watch your mouth in front of royalty, because that's exactly what we are! As for you, little Cassie, you still seem to be getting too big for your britches. Remember this: it's official, I am your mother-in-law, and I think it's time that I teach you another lesson."

"Like you did last time?"

Those words came from none other than Patricia, which drew a smirk from Chester, but brought out something in Vonda, who walked slowly towards Patricia.

"Well, well!" exclaimed Vonda. "Pretty Patty speaks! Or is it Mama Patty who's talking?" Vonda gave her signature smirk--the very expression that intimidated many women who crossed her path, though Patricia, who knew Vonda all too well, stood her ground.

"Would you care to repeat that?" Vonda asked in a haughty, yet intimidating tone.

"Of course," said Patricia. "I would be happy to again remind you that the last time you were in the ring with my daughter, she beat you at your own game. She's a lot like her mother in that regard." Vonda's expression turned serious, a sign of her long history with Patricia. However, the composed legend simply chuckled as she regained her in-character arrogance.

"You know, Patty," said Vonda, "my offer to teach that lesson to Cassie... also extends to you, too! And you know full well about my methods." Both matriarchs stared a hole into each other, but the tension was broken by Kristina, who was fit to be tied.

"I told you not to make those brats a part of my wedding!" Kristina snarled, while pointing angrily at Tanya and Lana. She ordered her sisters to go after the maids of honor, only for Cassie to shield them.

"Hold it right there, Krissy!" exclaimed Cassie. "This isn't your wedding, it's our wedding. And my maids of honor can do whatever they want!" Once that statement was completed, Tanya and Lana went after Vanessa and Serena, only for the pair of sisters to take down the pair. All three Richards sisters surrounded Cassie, while Vonda--with an insidious grin--held Patricia at bay. To the shock of the sisters, Tanya and Lana rose up and charged after Vanessa and Serena again, while Patricia broke free and fought Vonda. Once Vanessa and Serena were tossed out of the ring (and after Vonda was ejected by Patricia), Cassie, Tanya, and Lana all surrounded Kristina. Cassie actually prevented her maids of honor from approaching her new wife, but she only did so to get Kristina out of the ring herself.

Chester embraced his wife and daughter afterwards, very proud of what he witnessed. As for Dianne, she made the following announcement:

"Looks like this wedding is officially over, but the business between the eight of you definitely isn't! So, I'll make this official!" The crowd, already having enjoyed the post-wedding melee, was even more excited, as they already sensed with the babyface GM was about to announce.

"On one side," Dianne announced, "it will be Cassie Horn, her mother Patricia Horn, and the duo of Tanya Fitzpatrick and Lana Hebert!" With each name announced, the crowd gave their cheers for the four fan favorites.

"On the other side," continued Dianne, "it will be the three sisters, Kristina, Vanessa, and Serena Richards, and their mother, Vonda Richards! And they will face off in a four-on-four tag team contest later tonight!" The crowd roared over the announcement of this huge match. The babyface team was in the ring teasing their heel opponents, the Richards family, who made vows to defeat their foes.

The match was set for the night's main event, allowing both sides just two and a half hours to change into their gear. The Richards sisters were in their gear in their locker room/war room, and they were gushing over how they dismantled the wedding.

"That was so much fun!" cooed Vanessa. "The way we pushed around Cassie's little bridesmaids!"

"We showed them who we are!" proclaimed Serena. "The Richards family rules. We dominate. We destroy!"

"And trust me, sisters," Kristina said with a dangerous edge, "that is only the beginning. We will rule Infinity Women's Wrestling! What we did was Phase One. Phase Two is this tag match. And when it comes to Cassie, well, leave my dear wife to me." Kristina was so deep into her villainous persona that she didn't notice Vonda entering the room.

"Usually, statements like that are often followed by a maniacal laugh," Vonda said sternly.

"Just getting prepared for our match, Mom," said Kristina.

"So I see!" replied Vonda. "Vanessa, Serena, could you give us some alone time? I need to have a heart-to-heart with your sister."

"Sure thing, Mom," said Serena.

"See you out there!" said Vanessa.

After Vanessa and Serena left, Vonda sat down with Kristina. "You really made quite the impression, Kristina," said Vonda.

"Just giving people something to talk about," said Vonda.

"Don't give me that," Vonda said with that stern tone. "I know that look, Kristina Marie. I made a living in that ring with that demeanor, and the only time I acted like that is when I wanted payback against someone. So out with it." Kristina knew she couldn't get anything past Vonda, and after taking a deep breath, she let it out.

"I love Cassie so much," Kristina said, "but I owe her some receipts. As her wife, I'm proud of her. But as your daughter, and especially as the Princess, I'm out for payback. And beating her in that ring would be the ultimate payback!" Despite the conflict that was expressed, Kristina gave a bit of an evil smirk following her last statement--an expression that Vonda noticed quickly.

"There it is," said Vonda. "There's that smirk. You have the same drive as your father, but you definitely have my ruthless cunning. To be honest, I was hoping that you would be more like Rance, God rest his soul."

"Mom...," said Kristina.

"Let me finish," interrupted Vonda. "You've seen me in action. I can be very over the top as a heel, to the point where I've been called "crazy" at times. And yes, I can be crazy. Patty, your mother-in-law, well, she loves our friendship anyway. Cassie is her spitting image; she is a wonderful girl, and I'm happy that she makes you happy. Just remember, work that persona, yes, but there's family in both sides of this match." Kristina and Vonda hugged, a mutual show of appreciation for each other.

"Thanks, Mom," said Kristina.

"Anytime," replied Vonda. "Time for us to shine."

It was main event time, the eight-woman tag team match that was made as a result of the brawl that took place following Cassie and Kristina's wedding. The babyface quartet made their entrances first, Cassie Horn leading the way alongside Lana Hebert, Tanya Fitzpatrick, and the legend herself, Patricia Horn. The group embraced the crowd, who cheered upon seeing them make their entrances in the ring. After that, their opponents, the Richards family, made their presences felt. Kristina Richards, the youngest of the three sisters, led the charge, and was flanked by her older sisters, Vanessa and Serena Richards, and their mother, the hallowed evil Queen of the Ring, Vonda Richards. The family soaked in the crowd's negative reaction, but none more so than Kristina, who was basking in it more than usual.

As the villainesses entered the ring, they each looked at their respective targets. Vanessa and Serena made intimidating gestures towards Tanya and Lana, who stood their ground. Vonda gave a wink at Patricia, who gave a look of determination. As for the team captains, the recently married Cassie and Kristina, all they did was stare a hole right into each other, right before they started this match. Already, there was heat and passion between the pair as they delivered various blows and holds to each other, and right after Cassie was caught in the Richards' corner, a tag was made, and in came Vonda.

Vonda received massive jeers from the crowd, and she worked on Cassie, while taunting her daughter-in-law regarding their last encounter. "I told you, little Cassie," Vonda said, "you needed to be taught another lesson, and class is in session!" Just as Vonda was about deliver a power bomb to Cassie, she ended up on the receiving end of a head-scissors from Cassie, who tagged in Patricia.

The crowd roared over this sight. A pair of legends, each with three decades of experience, in the squared circle. Patricia soaked in the reactions, and even Vonda couldn't help doing the same, but they went right to the business at hand and intensely went after each other. A rivalry that dated back to the mid-to-late 90s was being rehashed, with neither veterans backing off. It reached a point where Vonda actually tossed Patricia in the Richards corner, and while Vonda had the official distracted, Vanessa and Serena delivered shots at Patricia. Vonda had the first pin attempt, but Patricia kicked out and tagged in Lana.

Lana's entry had Vanessa shouting at her mother to tag her in, with Vonda doing so. Vanessa, being a towering heel (as is Serena), delivered her vicious offense to Lana, who refused to back down, and even fought back with a pair of dropkicks, the second one bringing down Vanessa for a two count. Despite the kick out, Vanessa was not in control, and knowing this, she tossed Lana to the ropes, where Serena had a well-placed knee prepared to strike Lana's back. This drew Tanya's ire, as she ran across the ring and knocked down Serena. Vanessa went on the attack after Tanya, Lana went after Vanessa, and it led to all eight women fighting inside and outside of the ring, with the referee trying (and failing) to get control.

The official did know that Vanessa and Lana were the legal women, but that changed when Lana managed to tag Cassie back in. Cassie delivered several moves to Vanessa, including a pair of suplexes, but unbeknownst to Cassie, Kristina blind-tagged herself in. While Cassie was unaware, the official did catch it, and Cassie learned the hard way when a pinning attempt on Vanessa was disallowed. Kristina came from behind and tossed down Cassie, and there it was--the newlyweds face to face with each other again.

A lot went through the minds of Cassie and Kristina. The last time they faced each other, Cassie was victorious and she popped the question. This would be followed by Cassie being on the receiving end of mind games from Vonda, leading to Cassie's win over Vonda--the biggest in her young career. All of that enveloped both of their minds as they delivered left and rights to each other, all while their respective partners were fighting outside the ring. A pin attempt from Cassie was broken up by Serena and Vanessa, only for Lana and Tanya to get involved and drag the sisters out of the ring. Cassie found herself taunted by Vonda at ringside, but Patricia went on the attack against her longtime rival. With nothing in her way, Cassie was about to set Kristina up for her German suplex/moonsault combined finisher, but Kristina managed to counter and deliver her "Royal Decree" faceplant move on Cassie, and that ended up being enough for the three-count!

Kristina, her sisters, and her mother were announced as winners, and Kristina gave a genuine and emotional smile upon realizing that she had won. The persona returned once she turned Cassie around, as she gave her devious smirk at her defeated betrothed.

"That, dear wife," Kristina said, as she gave Cassie a kiss, "was all for you."

Two days passed, and Cassie was at the gym training and working out. Her mind was on her next match; she didn't have an opponent yet, but being prepared was her strong suit.

"Cassie!"

Another strong suit that Cassie developed was dealing with her in-laws, and the commanding voice she heard belonged to Vonda, who appeared with Vanessa and Serena. "Relax, Cassie," said Vonda. "We come in peace."

"What's up?" asked Cassie.

"I know we basically settled things in the ring," said Vonda, "but I never got to properly congratulate you. You took everything I gave you, everything we gave you, and you stood strong and survived."

"I knew you could handle it," added Vanessa. "You have that goody-goody persona, but you are tough as nails."

"Thanks... I think," Cassie said with a slight chuckle.

"All kidding aside," said Serena, "what we love the most is how happy you make our little sister. Krissy smiles from ear to ear whenever she talks about you, and we are so happy that you're part of her life and part of our family."

"As crazy as it is," said Vonda.

"The three of you are amazing," said Cassie. "I have a pair of awesomely wicked sisters-in-law, and I have a queen for a mother-in-law. Vonda, everything my mom said about you is so true; you're legendary and you are so spirited."

A group hug took place afterwards, further cementing the familial bond brought together when Cassie and Kristina tied the knot. When Cassie Horn and Kristina Richards became a married couple, it formed a strong and undeniable bond between everyone involved. Longtime rivals became in-laws together. Both halves of the newlywed couple had been battling each other beforehand, now this marriage makes things interesting. And overall, it creates a family that may go through each other in the ring, but they are united outside the squared circle.

Thank you for reading this sequel to the "Monster Heel-In-Law" two-parter! If you like this story, click the heart and subscribe button, and feel free to comment below!