Ashley could hardly believe it. She was sitting backstage in the Greensboro Coliseum, her slim and waifish figure outlined by bright bulbs on the mirror. Perched on a stool, she was waiting for her hero -- Sigrid. "The Norse Ladykiller." "Barbarian Queen." "Lady Viking." "Huntress." No matter what name she'd wrestled under, Ashley had followed her career every step of the way. From the no-name indies to Total Mayhem Action to the Worldwide Wrestling Organization, she'd watched the statuesque Icelandic woman come up in the ranks since she was twelve years old.
Twelve years later, almost ready to graduate from college, she still looked up to Sigrid. It was true that she lacked the woman's strength. Her glistening six-pack, those bulging biceps, her soft and pert breasts... everything about her checked Ashley's boxes for the ideal woman. By contrast, she was stick thin, no matter how much she ate or tried to work out. No hips, no ass, not much of anything going on. Just a small pocket of fat around her belly from her daily vanilla lattes. Dating in college had been hard for her because of her plain appearance, but she'd kept throwing herself at it nevertheless. Because of Sigrid. Whenever she watched her deliver a clothesline or an elbow to an opponent, or listened to her brag about taking out the entire WWO's women's division, she felt instilled with a confidence she couldn't describe. Inside, this woman she'd never met filled her with a warmth, like the best friend she'd never met.
Only now, she was minutes away from meeting her. She'd wanted to dress prettier for her hero, but after four hours of screaming and jumping and pumping her fists in the arena, any of her nice outfits would've been sweat-stained and unsightly. But she was worried that it was too cringy wearing her frayed and faded "Lady Viking" shirt she'd gotten her fourteenth birthday, and a bit too plain in her ill-fitting, baggy jeans and running shoes. Not to mention how mousy her wavy mess of black hair was. She shook her head. There was no point in worrying about appearances. She didn't want to waste a single moment of meeting Sigrid worrying about herself.
The door knob turned, and Ashley's heart skipped a beat.
This is it! Here she is!
Sigrid entered the dressing room, ducking her head under the doorway. In the pale light of the dressing room, the sweat on every exposed inch of her body glistening, making her light up. She pushed her damp mass of platinum blonde hair out of her face, then inspected the petite woman sitting in front of her mirror with a perplexed look.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Sigrid spoke with a thick Icelandic accent, one eyebrow raised.
Ashley's heart was beating so fast that she could hardly speak. "H-H-Hi, ma'am. I'm Ashley, a-and I won the contest on that site, a-a-and I... Um, yeah."
Way to go, you spaz!
Sigrid still looked confused, gazing down her wide nose at the girl. "What site?"
"I-I forgot the name, but it was for a chance to meet you backstage. I-I found it on Reddit."
"Reddit...? What in the fuck is a Reddit?"
"Oh! Right, y-you probably don't..." She trailed off -- this was like explaining the internet to her mom. "Um, it's a place where fans of stuff go. Um, the wrestling sub-reddit... um, that's like a message board, I guess... it's called Squared Circle, and somebody posted a link. There was an entry fee, a-a-and I had to answer questions about your career, a-and... um, yeah. I met with a member of the crew and they took me back here after the show, and told me to wait..."
Sigrid furrowed her thick, black brows and rubbed her face. "
HelvΓtis brundprΓ³
...
.
"
"W-What's wrong?"
She ran her fingers through her greasy hair, flexing her chiseled arms. "Road crew does this sometimes. Sells off meet and greets to idiot fans on the internet. Never happened to me, though." She spit on the ground, irritated. "Cunts."
Ashley twirled her thumbs and looked at the floor. "O-Oh. So you didn't know I was going to be here."
"No. I don't do private meetings."
"Oh." A lump rose in Ashley's throat as her face flushed fuscia. "I-I see. I was wondering why it took over an hour before you got here."
The massive woman scratched her face. "You've been waiting here for that long...?"
Her meek fan nodded. "Y-Yes. But I can, um... I can go." She got to her feet and started to walk towards Sigrid. As she drew closer, she could smell the wrestler's sweat and feel its warmth radiating off of her. "I-I'm sorry, Sigrid. I didn't mean to ruin your night like this."
Sigrid put a large hand on Ashley's shoulder as she walked past. "Wait, girl."
She stopped and shuddered. Sigrid's hand was bigger than she'd imagined, big enough to grab her whole shoulder, and strong enough to hold her in place.
"You've really been waiting over an hour for me?" Sigrid sighed, the taste of whiskey still on her breath.
"Almost two..."
Sigrid smiled. "Silly girl." She looked down at the frail young woman. She was small, but then, almost every woman was small to her 6'7". "You know that I do public meetings, yes?"
"Y-Yes. But this was different. I-I had you all to myself. Just for a little while."
"Why would you want that?"
Ashley gulped, trying to not get emotional. "B-Because you're my hero."
Sigrid's mouth, covered with smeared lipstick, hung open at a slight gape. She let out a scoff of disbelief. "What?"
Ashley closed her eyes. "Y-You're so strong, and so beautiful. Every time I look at you, every time I listen to you or watch you do something in the ring, I feel like I can do anything. I feel so
strong.
E-Even though I'm so weak, I-I don't
feel
that way when I think of you, Sigrid. You're everything I'm not, andβ"
"Stop." Sigrid shook her head. "Look at me." Ashley turned to meet Sigrid's steely, piercing ocean eyes. "There are younger, prettier, more talented women than me out there. You know this?"
"They're not you."
Sigrid furrowed her brow. "Yes. They're
better
. I-I'm not going to be doing this much longer, you know."
Ashley gasped. "What?!"
"This is my last month, girl. After this, I'm retiring. Nobody wants to see an old woman hobbling around the ring like a sad cripple."
"N-No! What?!"
The woman hung her head. "You watch wrestling, no? Have you seen Becky Quinn? The Della Twins? Sasha Bronx? Nick Flare's daughter?" She let out a sad laugh. "I have nothing on them. I'm a relic. And I'm tired."
Ashley shook her head emphatically. "No! You're not! You're perfect! You're amazing! You're... you're
Sigrid
!"
"What does that mean anymore, child?"
"It means that you're the first woman I ever saw in the ring. W-When my mom took me to an indie show when I was twelve, before she passed, I-I saw you come out... You were still the Viking Princess back then... In that leather thong and studded bra, and the fur belt..." Sigrid chuckled. "I-It was so cool to see a woman like you. You were so much taller than everyone. You lifted them, threw them, put them in headlocks... And then there was the one move... with the ropes..."
Sigrid smirked. "The Flayer?"
"Yes! The Flayer! You tied them up and you just
gave
it to them. Nobody could stop you. You were...
are