I loved reading everybody's review for the last chapter. I read them the morning after I posted and it made my day a whole lot more cheerful. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Let's just say, we get some justice here.
Also, while thinking about future chapters, I came up with a super sweet idea for this story and a sad one for the sequel. It may be a good idea, but then again it might not be. A small hint though, it involves Gil.
On with the chapter!
On the tourney field, the Fighting Knights and the Sherwood Falcons were tied—the first time in years.
The scoreboard read 2:2 with forty-seven seconds left on the clock. Cheerleaders, including Audrey, clapped, chanted, and danced. Jane, the mascot, in a knight's suit of armor, jumped up and down with them. An announcer stood on the field with a golden microphone, as the teams got into their huddles and took up position along the kill zones.
Evie sat next to Jay and Carlos on the bench while Mal stood next to Coach Jenkins, concerningly watching Ben.
Since Mal and Evie couldn't sit on the sidelines in their usual outfits, Coach had brought the girls jerseys to wear so the referee or the other team's coach couldn't get them in trouble. It was basically the same thing as the boys had to wear, however, they had only one with the word 'manager' on it. Evie's was the manager jersey while Mal received Ben's away game jersey. It had the inverse color scheme of the original, meaning it was gold with Ben's name and the number seven in gold.
Anyways, Ben had been put in the game the whole time, not once being pulled out to take a break. The only time he could catch his breath was when Coach called a time-out. There were a few instances where someone would knock him down pretty hard. They'd apologize immediately, but Ben would laugh as he stood back up. The first time, he insisted he could handle it because—on the Isle—he would have to block the Gaston twins since he was the only one strong enough. They were probably watching right now from the Isle and calling him a wimp.
The second time, Ben started to get annoyed. That time, it seemed like they were doing it on purpose. They had apologized again and Ben forcefully laughed it off once more. This last time—the seventh time—someone tripped him and he banged his head hard against the ground.
The game paused for a few minutes as Coach Jenkins and the ref went to check on him. After a minute passed, Coach called Mal over. She ran over and did her routine. He seemed to have no physical injuries, but he complained about having a pounding headache. Coach was going to pull him out since he had a possible concussion, but Ben practically begged to stay in the game since there was less than a minute left.
Before the game could begin again, Lonnie ran over to the coach with a phone in hand. She handed him the device and he looked at the screen.
A video began to play of Chad and two other players on the opposite team. Those two players were the ones that kept knocking Ben down. Chad had handed the players a wad of cash and told them they would get the rest if they could get Ben out of the game or make him lose his temper.
Coach Jenkin's face turned red with rage.
He shouted for a time out before the next play started. The players stayed on the field, unsure what was going on as Jenkins marched over to the other coach. They watched the video together before having a heated discussion. Neither one was mad at the other. They were simply deciding on what they should do to their players as punishment. After coming to an agreement and shaking hands, the coaches called their players to their respective places on the sideline.
Chad, clearly confused, jogged over to the coach.
"Go to the bench!" Coach Jenkins loudly ordered as he forcefully took away the teen's tourney stick and shield. "You're out of the game!"
Everyone in the audience gasped at the announcement. Chad's face paled as he started to worry. "But Coach," he began pleadingly as he tried to act innocent, "what did I do?"
"You know exactly what you did." Coach barked. "How dare you pay to have your teammate injured and lose their temper? We'll discuss your punishment after the game. Just know that as of now, I'm considering kicking you off the team."
"But Coach!" Chad whined. "If you pull me out, there's no way we'll win! Besides, I'm team captain!"
"How can I forget with you reminding me every few minutes?" Coach Jenkins motioned to the bench.
"You heard what I said." He turned to Jay and Carlos with an encouraging smile, despite his previous anger. "You're up."
Carlos's face paled as much as Chad's had. "Me?" He pointed to himself. "But I'm not that good."
"Don't worry, bro." Jay encouraged with a smile of his own. "I got your back."
"How about my front?" Carlos gulped.
Jay laughed and gave him a friendly noogie.
Jay and Carlos trotted out onto the field and took their positions.
"Well, will you look at this!" The announcer exclaimed after he caught on to what had happened. "The coach brought that hothead Jay in from the Isle of the Lost and that little guy Carlos who can barely hold a shield!"
Chad begrudgingly sat on the bench next to Evie, who was too tense for her own good.
"Audrey and I came up with a plan," he muttered to the Isle princess so no one else could hear. "We're doing it on Family Day. Are you in or are you out?"
Evie kept her eyes on her friends as they played on the field. "Out," she claimed after a few moments.
"What?" Chad turned to her in surprise. "Don't you want revenge too?"
She shook her head in denial. "Anger the King, Plea for the Queen," Evie recited. "Anger the Queen . . ." She glared at Chad with a fire in her eyes. "Be Killed by the King." Evie stood defiantly. "I don't want to be killed by my king."
She walked and stood next to Mal, knowing she made the right decision.
"23 seconds left," boomed the announcer. "You could cut the tension with a sword."
"Isle Rush," Jay stated to an out of breath Ben and a more confident Carlos. "This time, Carlos, you will knock the ball up and Ben, you'll score instead of me."
"I can handle your weight," Ben argued in between breaths.
"And I don't doubt that," Jay reasoned calmly, because they all knew Ben could have a temper fit at any moment. "But I think it would impress Auradon and the Isle if their king scored the winning goal. From what I heard, it's been years since Auradon Prep lost the trophy. Who better to get it back than the future king?"
The next play began.
The long ball was passed to Jay, who leaped and ran with it down the field. Jay dished the ball off to Ben. Carlos, with a big block, went down. Jay ran through the kill zone and picked up Carlos. They were hammered by dragon fire. Jay did another hurdling maneuver midfield and ran until he was in the clear and could get the ball again.
"Jay!" called Carlos, who stood in front of the goal.
Jay whipped the ball his way. The ball bounced off Carlos's shield and flew high in the sky. Carlos crouched down so Jay could jump over him. When Jay did so, he did a tumble so he'd be kneeling. Ben came running at the speed he could muster, stepped onto Jay's back, and used the momentum to jump up and shoot the ball in the goal. The goalie couldn't reach the ball in time as it shot into the net. Ben had scored.
The Knights had won.
In the stands, the crowd cheered, roared, and went wild. Mal held her ears from the nose. Even though she was down on the sideline, the noise was incredibly loud.
"What a team!" The announcer complimented, "Incredible! And it's the new guys, Jay and Carlos, who set up the once missing prince for the win. What a victory! An absolutely wonderful end to one of the best games ever! Here they come folks, the winners—"
Ben grabbed the microphone out of the announcer's hands. "Excuse me!" He shouted into the mic. "Excuse me. Can I have your attention, please?"
The crowd went silent.
He stood on the dragon cannon. "There's something I'd like to say."
Mal watched him with curiosity.
Ben surveyed his captive audience. "As you all know, I've been missing from Auradon for ten years," he stated. "I am to be inducted as king within this upcoming week. I was told in one of my many many lessons that I have to choose someone to 'escort' for the coronation. What better way to do so by asking in front of a crowd?"
Mal's eyes widened as their gazes met.
He smiled. "Mal," he gestured to her. "Will you come up here for a sec?"
With a blush prominent on her cheek and a push from Evie, Mal reluctantly made the walk to him as all eyes were on her. After climbing onto the dragon cannon next to him, Ben continued his speech. "Everyone on the Isle knows our story," he acknowledged. "And although it seems repetitive to explain our story to the audience, I guess I will do so since they don't know."
"You found me ten years ago," he began, "on the Isle of the Lost, unconscious in the boat. When I woke up and saw you, I thought I had met the most beautiful girl in the world."
Mal's blush grew as the audience cooed at Ben's statement.
"You showed me kindness when you had no idea who I was," he continued. "And to be fair, I had no idea who I was either until four years later. You ran off not because you had discovered I was the missing prince, but because you were afraid I'd leave and never be able to see me again. I found you in the matter of minutes and promised I wouldn't leave the Isle without you. Ten years old and we were inseparable.
"I kept true to my promise of course," he informed the audience. "Then, once we had turned thirteen, I finally had the courage to ask you out on a date. I had been so happy when you said yes without even thinking about it. Soon, we were given a title by the villagers—Queen and King of the Isle. Mal has more of the respect since she was born on the Isle, but I think it's safe to say I gave her a run for her money."
Mal slapped his arm at the joke, half hoping that it hurt.
"I know I'm rambling, so I'll get to the point." Ben held her hand affectionately with his free one. "Mal, will you—"
Ben was cut off when Audrey abruptly marched over—dragging Chad behind her—and forcefully snatching the microphone out of his hand. "Chad's my boyfriend now!" she announced, draping her around Chad. "And I'm going to the coronation with him. So I don't need your pity date." She smiled and kissed Chad firmly on the lips.
From the sidelines, Evie placed her hands on her hips and looked away.
Ben grabbed the mic back. "As I was saying," he turned back to his beloved. "Mal, Queen of the Isle, will go to the coronation with me?"
Mal smiled. "How could I say no?"
The couple kissed in celebration, which was way less forceful than the former couple. People in the stands cheered.
Audrey huffed, and she and Chad stormed off.
Jay appeared beside Ben. "Come on, man. The whole team's waiting for you."
Although he was reluctant to go, Mal gave him a kiss on the cheek to cheer him up. "You better go," she insisted. "I'm going to try to cheer up Evie."
With one last kiss, Mal walked back to the sidelines to her awfully upset best friend.
"Like I said," Evie began once Mal was next to her. "It's my fault I was burned. I should have listened to you and Lonnie."
"You know what?" Mal asked rhetorically. "I feel really sorry for Audrey."
Evie looked surprised. "You do?"
"Yeah. I feel like if she were talented like you, and she knew how to sew and do triple flips, then she wouldn't need a prince to make her better about herself."
Evie chuckled softly and smiled. "I guess I am kind of gifted."
"Kind of," Mal teased, smiling.
Evie laughed and beamed at Mal. "Thanks, M."
"What a victory," the announcer announced, "What a day for the Auradon Knights, finally winning back the trophy after so many years." Jay was lifted up in the air with a giant trophy in his hands. "And there he is. Jay, the most valuable player. How do you like that?"
Evie sighed as she watched the happy scene on the field. "M," she began glancing at her friend apologetically, "there's something I need to tell you."
Cliffhanger! My friend's birthday is tomorrow and I have a few assignments due on Monday, so I won't be able to add another chapter this weekend. Be sure to review!