Habanera Act One: Lady Eleanor de Vere Beauvalot versus Gaia Eden

AMBIANCE:

A deep inhale.
Rich.
Lively.
Hot.
Perfect.

Lady Eleanor de Vere Beauvalot couldn't help but move the tea cup and saucer from her nose and indulge it in finally. It was just a sip, a sampling for the flavor. She opened her eyes, letting the enjoyable bitterness wash down her throat. She breathed, "C'est Magnifique!" confessing her joy as she set the cup back down to the saucer to bring the pair down to a gentle rest above her lap. "Oh, Penelope, regale me on again on my chances for my match! I simply must hear it again~!" Eleanor gleamed with her usual proper posture giving away to her being excited on the edge of her seat. She was thrilled to be given the match against the opponent she wanted. The odds seemed so in her favor that a victory seemed all but assured...

"R-Right, Lady Eleanor! ... Ahem... Your opponent this evening will be Gaia Eden, an American who-" "Ohohoho~A true victim of public education that will suffer when it comes to an intellectual battle~ Yes, do go on~" "-er, of course, Lady Eleanor. An American with a storied history of a wrestling career in the United States and none of it good. It took some investigative work but her record shows a significant number of losses. Her performance was so bad that she even got fired from the league she worked for." Penny glanced up from her paper. She had vetted all the records of other wrestlers she could to find the easiest opponent she could for her Madame. Gaia Eden, in all accounts, appeared awful given her record but the details of her losses were not included. It seemed to be a perfect mark, yet Penny had her doubts as she watched Eleanor happily tap her feet. She didn't have the heart to crush that excitement.

"Oh, Penelope, I am so pleased to have an opponent that would be better to start out with. Someone I can thoroughly deconstruct to understand the complexities of an exhibition in front of an audience~ This will be excellent!" Lady Eleanor turned and set down her tea as she picked up a biscuit. She nibbled on the end and delicately placed it back on the platter. Eleanor's arms swung out to her sides, lifted up by the elbow as she practically hopped to her feet. "I cannot wait! I shall head towards my entrance and let the swell of my subjects elevate me to the heavens!"

Penny watched as Lady Eleanor hurry over to the door of her dressing room. She opened her mouth to say anything but seeing her Madame turn around with a great big smile on her face stopped her from letting the worried advice slip.

"When you lay eyes upon me again, I will be on a winning record~~~" Lady Eleanor practically squealed in delight as she turned and threw open the door before vanishing. "Good luck, Lady Eleanor..."

Match Attire:

Entrance Music:

Music swelled and quick to emerge from her side was Lady Eleanor. She was still coursing with excited energy as she took quick, short steps down the ramp to the ring. Her cane held up in her hand, waving like a long baton as she reached the end of the ramp and hurried herself over to the stairs. She climbed to the edge of the canvas arena, stopping to place her cane against the ringpost before she turned around. Bending forward she brought the tips of her gloved fingers and gave them a kiss before blowing it out to the fans like a true princess. She slipped into the ring but not before taking off her little hat and placing it on the top of the ringpost to better represent her royal corner. She planned on making it a throne once she utterly defeated her opponent tonight.

It had been quite a while since Gaia had first settled into Japan. The first few months were spent learning the language and the city of Tokyo and the rest was getting through AFWs optional boot camp. She thought it was best to get a refresher in a new place to drive home that feeling of a fresh start. It had been a rocky road to get here, and now that Maya was bunking up at her apartment the idea of having some degree of solitude in a foreign land had been dashed. It was for the best though. Her sister needed her, it wouldn’t have been right to let her wallow back home.

Tonight though, it was all about her and her big debut. It was her first time back in a ring since she was forced to give up her old federation and she couldn’t have been more excited. Something about Japan just resonated with her. The people were polite, the city was always lively, and best of all, she hadn’t had any more incidents. Several spars under her belt and not a single shameful mistake. Perhaps the issue hadn’t been her after all but a product of how things were back in the States. She wasn’t really sure, but now that all of that was behind her now, it was time to show AFW just who she was.

Theme:

Gaia Eden:

Spotlights converged on the stage as Eleanor’s opponent’s music hit. A backlit silhouette against flashing lights, she came striding forward confidently to the beat perfectly synchronized with the music. Center stage she stopped, abruptly hitting a series of rapid-fire poses, the movement seamlessly flowing from one to the next in perfect harmony with the beat of the music. A consummate performer in all aspects of her craft, one might have easily just assumed she was a professional dancer.

While she was an unknown here, the lukewarm reception turned to one of praise and applause, the audience couldn’t help but be drawn into the spectacle of it all. Her brazen confidence, song selection, and general look had been enough to win them over as if she were someone of far higher standing than she actually was. She knew how to carry herself on a stage, she had the experience after all.

She strut down to the ring, each stay of her hips hitting a beat with meticulous timing. It wasn’t until she was sliding beneath the bottom rope that she allowed the rhythm to leave her step and simply rise again, regarding the crowd with a nod and a smile. She turned her attention to Eleanor, giving her a once-over. They looked roughly the same height but she had an adorable petiteness to her, pretty eyes, and an interesting choice of attire sporting plenty of little frills. She set her hands on her hips, standing tall as she faced Eleanor down with a cocksure smile on her face. "Looks like it's just me and you tonight."

Such a brazen attitude~

Lady Eleanor couldn't help but muse at her opponent's liveliness as if she were a natural. All that rhythmic dancing and fanfare were masks that Gaia put on to hide her shame. The shame of her pathetic abilities that would, undoubtedly, be revealed through Eleanor's masterful executions. She imagined that this match would go the course of a maestro sweeping the novice off of her feet and in due course, the novice will bow and beg the master for lessons.

But Lady Eleanor wouldn't let dare let some novice lick her boots, let alone mentor!

That confidence appeared to stretch all the way to Gaia's outfit this evening. Horribly exposed and even, dare she say, slanderous! Wide swaths of thigh and hip were displayed and even the other's bosom lay half exposed as if this Gaia would prefer herself to be stripped and shamed on stage! Such a lecherous scoundrel! Clearly, Lady Eleanor would show her the error of her ways and maybe knock some sense into the American.

Eleanor pulled at the bottom of her glove, her smile reaching beyond the point of overconfident as she gave Gaia a look as she spoke. "Indeed and allow me to spoil the plot of this play. I will play the part of skillful veteran, teaching the woefully ill-prepared novice why she isn't adequate to be in this venue. You, of course~, will play the novice. How does that suit you?" Eleanor lifted her white-gloved hand to her mouth to cover laugh at Gaia's expense. Truly, this would be fun~

Her slender eyebrows lifted at her opponent’s words, waiting until she had finished before letting a soft chuckle escape her lips. This one seemed to think very highly of herself. That was fine, she was already eager to challenge herself regardless of the venue. Gaia shifted her weight from one leg to the other, side-eyeing the crowd, gauging their reaction to what was happening in the ring before turning her attention back to Eleanor.

“Novice huh? I hear people here in Friction are pretty tough so I have some high expectations of you…” Gaia trailed off, bringing a finger to her chin to tap it lightly. “Afraid I’m not overly fond of this script you’re pitching though, so I’ll be adlibbing if you don’t mind.” Gaia flashed Eleanor a grin, rolling her shoulders into a small shrug as if it were out of her control. “Best of luck to you.”

"Oh my, yes~" Lady Eleanor mused, waving her hand casually as she dismissed Gaia's weak taunt and focused more on the difficult and high expectations. "Friction will be a most difficult league for you, I'm afraid. You will not survive it and yet I even fear, you won't make it past me~"

Eleanor waltz her way up to the center of the ring. "I won't need any luck to defeat you." She leaned forward, confidence oozing out of her mouth as her grin spread into a wide, smug expression just in time for the bell to ring.

DING!

"I wonder how quickly you will crumble in my more, shall we say, delectable~holds, hm?" Oddly enough, she did not hear the bell. Her mind was already working on more taunts and jabs to throw at her opponent's way. She fully believed that this other girl was a non-factor!

She began to step around, circling the ring to continue on prattling about victory was assured. "Perhaps you'll beg for reprieve, but you'll find none with me. I am an exemplar of abilities and performance well beyond your comprehension that if I were to state how many ways I could place a part of you in a submission, we'd be here all evening~"

Eleanor was prepared to keep going and she seemed totally in her own head. If, however, Gaia decided to approach, Eleanor would panic and throw out the back of her hand in a frenzy to try and slap her would-be attacker across the cheek!

Gaia sucked in her lips, trying not to laugh at Eleanor’s words. A big part of the in-ring competition was credibility and the last thing she wanted was to deflate her opponent in front of the crowd. This was some good cocky energy she was putting out there and it wasn’t her place to stifle it unless she was wanting to go toe to toe with the comeback game. She decided not to go too hard, wanting to stay likable in the eyes of the crowd to help foster her babyface appeal and let Eleanor get the wealth of smack talk in.

“We’ll see I guess. Good luck to you regardless.” At the sound of the bell her eyes briefly flicked to the timekeeper and then back to Eleanor. She gave the woman a small smirk as she continued to ramble on. She let her boots glide over the canvas, parting her legs in a stable wrestling stance as she circled opposite her opponent while she monologued. If nothing else she learned to be wary of this woman’s ability as a submissionist… She wondered what else she could weasel out of her.

“Sounds impressive. So you’re something of a specialist then? You don’t care much for high flying or strikes?” Gaia inched in, hands up, preparing to grapple with Eleanor when the other girl reacted, swinging an arm out her way. The blond leaned back, letting the backhand start to fly by before reaching out to snatch Elanor by the wrist with one hand, then grasping at her hand with the other. In a quick motion, she dipped down, ducking under the girl’s arm to try and twist it against the grain and stand beside her with a wristlock. She would keep herself at the girl’s side at arm's length, moving with her to prevent her from swinging again with her free arm. "So you’d do something like this then?”

"Yes! I am quite the specialist~" Eleanor gleamed, her eyes twinkling at the compliment she perceived. She was special and it was good of her opponent to notice her aptitude for talent. This match could have been just Eleanor continuing to rave about herself and Gaia complimenting her before giving up and there would be no complaints from the noble heiress. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be the case.

Gaia closed in and Eleanor jumped, startling to try and defend herself. Her hand shot out, swiping across the air but found no hit with it. Instead, it only lay out to be snagged and twisted into a simple armlock. It didn't take much of a twist before the heiress was crumbling, hunching over and wincing in utter agony. "M-My wrist!" She pleaded, "It is delicate, please!"

Her attempts at breaking free were limited. She moved, trying to face Gaia but when the blonde would move with her, it was obvious it was hopeless. Eleanor crumbled, falling to her knees. "Aaah! Please! Don't break anything! I've never broken a bone in my whole life!"

Gaia lifted Eleanor’s arm a bit higher, leveraging the hold. It was tight, but textbook. She wasn’t forcing it any more than she needed to keep pressure applied. She made the other girl follow her lead, continuing to make the both of them circle. The young blond made an overly dramatic showing at applying the hold, but it never really got worse.

“I’m not going to break it… up you go.” Gaia spoke in a low stained whisper, enough for the two of them and perhaps the official to hear. Leaning back, she gave the hold a firm tug, wrenching it a bit as she dragged Eleanor back to her feet. Despite whatever her opponent had been spouting she was either a green-as-grass rookie or putting on an act. She cautiously believed it was the former.

“Do what I did, like being twirled in a dance.” Gaia coached softly, leaving Eleanor’s arm up in the wristlock, giving her the opportunity to unwind the two of them with the move the blond had done to put her in it to begin with. While resistance and vigilance could prevent that counter from working, Gaia seemed to be willing to let her out if she could do it herself. If Eleanor followed her direction, the blond would indeed allow her to slip free and step back, breaking the hold to return to her ready stance. This was her debut match, she wanted to make sure it was a good one and not some wash.

Eleanor thought about giving up. Only for a moment, though. She had no idea how to break out of it her current predicament and while she did, in fact, learn not to get obviously blindsided like her last match, she never did quite get this far before.

At Gaia's coaxing with the lifting of her arm, the heiress wobbled back up to her feet. She looked like she'd collapse back at any moment as her legs shook. Her arm hurt, though it wasn't a lot of pain, Eleanor never experienced really encountered pain all that much growing up. She was deathly afraid of her arm breaking, still, despite Gaia's assurances. "Don't break it!" She repeated in a shaky voice.

That's when Gaia offered a bit of advice. Eleanor gulped, nodding hesitantly as she started to move into spin at first, before finally committing and going all the way. The heiress escaped and fully believed she was not helped at all!

Eleanor staggered a few steps away holding her arm out in front of her, delicately nursing it with her other arm. As seconds passed the broken woman quickly shifted back into her old habits. "Eh? A-Aha! I have escaped your hold
with ease, _{after a little difficulty at first}, and now I will repay that act you made against your superior!" Eleanor's confidence quickly returned as she raised both her hands out in front of her, like she was about to snag a fleeing cat. She'd lunge, trying to grab any bit of Gaia she could.

Hair, arm, leotard... it made no difference to Eleanor as she'd grab and yank to pull her opponent into an outstretched foot to try and trip her up!

When Gaia broke away from the hold, she swung her arms away as if Eleanor had really thrown her for a loop, backing off to get a breather she didn’t need. She was ready to square up though, start things off a bit soft to ease Eleanor into things. It could have been a lack of experience or just stage fright but she knew once they got rolling the other girl would be fine. That's generally how these things went.

“You’re a natural” Gaia remarked with a small smirk, perked up a bit when the other woman brought her hands up. The blond stepped in as Eleanor did but she went high and the other girl just grabbed her leotard between two of the stitched sections of material. An odd choice as she reached down to grab for her shoulders. She inadvertently moved into the other girl’s pull, catching herself up in an outstretched leg.

Gaia let out a surprised yelp as she legitimately tripped, falling face-first to the mat with a hard thud. Rolling over her side, she swept her legs wide, trying to clamp them around Eleanor’s ankles and twist, trying to bring her to the mat with a quick scissor leg takedown.