Chapter 25: The Tourney Game…Maybe?
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the first game of the Tourney season!"
It was finally the great day! The day of the Tourney Game that everyone was looking for. The bleachers were filled with students roaring their school pride through cheers and outfits based on the schools' colors. The field was being occupied with tourney players taking their positions, with Haya, Jay, and Gabriel at the forward positions, Chad and Ben in the midfield, and Carlos in defense for the Auradonian Knights. Throughout the field were dispersed gypsy kids with video recording cameras in order to film the event. For some reason, one of them was sitting from the top of a flagpole in order to get an 'aerial' view.
Avery was granted to temporarily leave his post as Auradon Prep's bell ringer in order to come down on the mainland and witness the game. No need to mention that students were surprised to see Victoria, Lawrence, and Hubert joining him (no one knew of their existence). They went to the front row, where sat Gitane, Lonnie, Macy, Kory, Xaos, and Finius.
"Where's Charles?" Hubert asked.
"Right there," Gitane said, pointing at where the announcer of the game was standing, only this time, Charles Frollo joined him for the speaking.
"Since when does Charles do announcements in games?" Avery asked curiously.
"He did a lot for the jeerball games and the Wicked Games tournament back on the Isle," Xaos said rather drily. "You wouldn't want to know."
"Thank you all for coming on this great fall day to witness the first seasonal Tourney game!" the announcer said. "With me is a special guest speaker today. The one and only Charles Frollo from the Isle of the Lost!" Cheers were heard from within the Auradon Prep crowd while the opposing team made a series of sounds combining shock, disgust, and protests. "Wow, Charles! You have quite a reputation!"
"You mean because of my dad or because I have old man's hair?" Charles asked teasingly through the microphone. This resulted with laughter coming from the announcer and everyone else. "I'm just kidding, Owen…can I call you Owen?"
"Sure thing, Charles," Owen said in a friendly tone.
"What kind of announcer is named Owen?" Xaos whispered to Finius.
"Beats me. This is the first I watch a tourney game taking place in Auradon Prep," the son of Macduff said.
"Folks, as you all know, the Auradon Prep Knights will be playing against the Falcons of Westerfield on this bright and sunny day," Charles declared through the microphone. "The rules are simple: play fair through team work, try to score in less than an hour with a five minute half-time, and don't kill or injure anyone!"
"I heard that!" Haya shouted from the field.
"Let the games begin!" Owen declared. Right when he said that, the referee blew the whistle and the games began, with Haya instantly catching the ball for Auradon Prep.
"Here she goes! Haya catches the ball, she passes it to Gabriel, who them passes it to Jay, who went up ahead on the enemy zone without getting hit once in the red zone!"
"Ben! Chad! Gabe! Pyramid formation!" Haya shouted. The boys nodded and began running in front of her, forming a triangle that shrunk in size as it got closer to the Falcons' defense, which was beginning to block Jay. "Jay! Back pass!"
The son of Jafar nodded at her order and then swished his stick backward, causing the ball to fly backwards to the approaching triangle. By then, the boys forming the triangle had their shoulders glued on one another, which provided space for Haya to jump on as if it were a trampoline, sending her flying five feet above, and hit the ball with her stick, sending it flying right inside the goals of the Westerfield Falcons.
"SCORE!" Owen shouted, with the referee blowing his whistle in approval.
"Haya scores for the Auradon Knights! Awesome!" Charles exclaimed. Cheers were heard throughout the Auradon Prep while the on-field players of Auradon Prep rushed to high-five Haya.
The game went on until, finally, Jay and Ben scored Auradon Prep's fifteenth score.
"THE GAME'S OVER!" Owen shouted through the microphone. "AURADON PREP WINS FIFTEEN TO ZERO!"
Kids shouted in pride. The friends in the bleachers cheered loud and clear. The gargoyles stomped with glee on the bleachers, nearly destroying the seats with their feet of clay. The gypsy kids took a lot of camera shouts as the trophy was being handed over to Haya.
"And the trophy of today's game goes to Haya Yu, the very first female Tourney player in Auradon history!" Charles announced with excitement. "Let's all hear it for Shan Yu's daughter!"
Mal, Audrey, Evie, and the other cheerleaders went through a cheering routine while Doug and the marching band played the Auradon anthem of victory while Haya was being hoisted by the team, her hands on the trophy, and her pride on the victory.
Later on in the evening
"Are you sure you don't want to keep your trophy?"
After such a long victory party, Macy and Haya had gone back to their dorm. While Macy was cleaning up the mess McPrince made, Haya was busy carefully wrapping her trophy in order to secure it before putting it in a package box.
"It's traditional for Huns to give their won trophies to their parents," she said. "So I'm sending it to my dad."
"That's thoughtful," Macy said quietly. Her uneasiness didn't go unnoticed from Haya.
"Mace, what's wrong?" Haya asked, walking up to Macbeth's daughter. "You can tell me anything. We're best friends, right?"
"We are!" Macy said, reassuring her Hun friend. "It's just…Haya, what on earth do you think our parents are going to do to us if we don't follow their expectations, or worse, associated with their enemies?"
Haya understood what she meant: before leaving the Isle, her five peers were sentenced by their parents to continue their villainous lineage. Kory and Xaos were ordered to pursue their godly fathers' mischievous and chaotic misfits. Frollo wanted his son to destroy all gypsies and get revenge on his enemies. Gaston and Lady Macbeth had sentenced Gabriel and Macy with similar situations: kill Ben in order to avenge Gaston for Gabriel's case and kill a king in order to usurp a kingdom in Macy's condition. Haya never got such orders from her father: as much as he wanted her to follow the Hun traditions, Shan Yu did want his daughter to follow her own path. And Haya was aware of that. But Macy did make a point about associating with the enemy: how would Haya's father react if he ever learned that she was beginning to become actual friends with Mulan's daughter?
"I guess we'll just have to find out," she shrugged. "Personally, I don't mind being in this softie-full school."
"Including the ridiculous sexist jocks who have no idea of how awesome Haya Yu is?" Macy joked. The girls laughed at the joke, making them feel better of any doubt. Havak, who served also as Haya's alarm clock, screeched eight times right when the clock indicated 8pm.
"Oh god!" Haya realized. "I'm supposed to meet up with Charles and Gitane! They promised to put the video footage of the game on tape so that I could also send it to my dad! I gotta rush!" True to her words, she ran out of the dorm, leaving Macy speechless as she held on to her bear cub.
Haya ran through the hallways towards the western side of the school until she reached the bottom of the largest staircase in the school, where she was supposed to meet the couple there. Fortunately, she arrived way ahead of them.
"Enjoying lurking the school from within the shadows?" a voice asked. Haya turned to see that it was none other than Eleanor Malcolm, much to her displeasure.
"Waste your time with someone else, Eleanor," she said, making a 'go away' gesture with her hand.
"I'd waste my time with you if it wasn't worth it," the Scottish princess said.
"Yeah, well, you're gonna have to check the definition of 'worth it'. Take your time. After all, you might find it by the time you die at the age of eighty."
"Perhaps. But only I can live forever."
Haya frowned at the familiarity of the sentence until she noticed Eleanor's green eyes turning into bluish, sharp ones. "Penna De Mort," Haya growled. "I should have known!"
"Pleased to see me? No wait, hear me?" the cold voice of Voldemort's daughter taunted.
"What have you done to Eleanor Malcolm?" Haya demanded, baring her fists.
"Chill your spine, Hun girl. I merely put a spell on this Auradon garbage that allows me to see and hear whatever is going on in this disgusting excuse of a school. Besides, what do you care about this brat who's done nothing but pester you merely because you are a villain's child?"
"As much as I don't like her, I've got this 'no-do' on my list that involves manipulating innocent people, especially when they've done nothing to you."
"I've forgotten how honorable you are!" the voice of Penna De Mort cackled through the mouth of Eleanor Malcolm as if the Scottish princess were none other than a mere puppet.
"I definetly remember you never being interested in participating in the Battle of the Bands until my band and I left for Auradon," Haya said drily. This caught the attention of Penna De Mort, who made Eleanor scold with her eyebrows.
"I'll put this clearly," she said menacingly, nearly making the tough Hun girl cringe. "Spill one word of my spying Auradon through one of them and one of your comrades dies."
"Feel free to take Charles Frollo," Haya shrugged. "He's been a nuisance to everyone ever since he was born."
"I already have personal affairs to deal with that half-blood hybrid." Penna De Mort's voice sounded rather disgusted. "But in your case, I'm quite positive that you wouldn't want me to spill the beans to your father about Fa Li Lonnie. Am I right?"
Haya froze when she realized that Voldemort's blasted child was aware of her friendship with Lonnie. Fear began to overwhelm her, for if there was one thing that she knew her father never tolerates with her, it's dishonesty. She learned it the hard way when she took one of his animal trophies for Show-And-Tell in kindergarten without his permission and lied about it until she was caught putting it back in its place. Ever since then, Shan Yu had taught her the tough lesson that a Hun never lies.
She was highly aware of the situation Penna De Mort was putting her in: Haya still hadn't told Shan Yu that she had genuinely befriended the daughter of his sworn enemy yet, and if Penna De Mort dared to tell that to Shan Yu herself, Haya would end up facing his anger for lying.
"Fine. I won't tell," she grumbled. "But you must swear on the River Styx that you won't harm anybody at Auradon Prep if I do so."
"If your silence is the reward, then I vow on the River Styx," Penna De Mort said.
"That also means removing that spell you put on Eleanor." Haya gave the possessed Eleanor a death glare.
"Fine! Just keep your silence until the Villains Comet approaches. Then you can babble the truth to your good-doer friends!"
Haya watched as Penna De Mort's bluish eyes turned back into Eleanor's green ones until the princess fell unconscious. Haya rushed to lift her up.
"One more thing," Penna De Mort's voice echoed beyond Haya's eyesight. "If you ever encounter the dream-hopper, tell him that our unfinished business will soon be over!"