A Queen in Disguise: Book 2

Chapter 8: The Ball

Chapter 43: The Ball
I stood there with my mouth open, not knowing what to do. I was stunned at the words that just escaped my father's mouth. Did I just hear my dad correctly? There must be a huge mistake. How can my dad be asking me to marry someone, someone I don't love?
"Queen Alexandria will be marrying Beau Berkley!" I heard him repeat it. Now I knew he was being serious. Okay. That is not happening. My father is crazy!
"Alexandria!" My father's voice boomed throughout the entire ballroom. It was so silent, you could hear a pin drop.
"Did you just say I will be marrying Beau?" I asked, my voice being heard throughout the entire ballroom. There was no way in hell I would be marrying Beau. Especially not because my father wants me to. This is ridiculous! He's ridiculous.
"Yes. The Queen needs a King, as it is tradition for her to be married, and he is the next in line for the throne in his royal family." My father explained. The crowd looked impressed with his knowledge. I, on the other hand, wanted to forget we were even royal. I was done with this life. My life was football not royalty. I did not want to be apart of this.
"Beau?!" I asked. He was standing next to my father. He looked as surprised as I was. At least he wasn't in on this. I would never forgive him if he was.
"He did not know of this Alexandria. His father and I have decided it was the right thing to do for our kingdom." My father continued to explain, while I just wanted him to shut up. I did not want to hear of any of this. I needed to get out of here.
"Well father, I will not, under any circumstances, be marrying Beau, no offense." I said the end towards Beau. Beau let out a chuckle.
"None taken." He replied smoothly.
"If I were ready and had to choose someone to marry, it would be Carter, not Beau." I spat, glaring at my father. I crossed my arms before speaking, "Now if you can excuse me, I need to freshen up."
I grabbed the bottom of my dress, being careful not to step on the delicate material, and walked off the stage. I continued to look forward, hearing flashes go off. I bet this would be plastered all over the world tomorrow morning. Hopefully by then i'll be back at home, ready to play in the game.
I just cannot believe my dad would actually try to get me to marry someone because of business. Especially the same guy he has tried to get me to date these last four years. He knows I am madly in love with Carter. He never has my best interest at heart. I bet him allowing me to play football these last four years was only so I would agree to quit in the end and be Queen for the rest of my life. But there was no way i'd ever be Queen. He just ruined that chance. I am never setting foot in England again. I am saying goodbye to him and this life. He lost me.
"Princess!" I stopped in my tracks hearing Carter's voice. It instantly soothed me. He jogged up to me, being careful to not tear his thousand dollar suit.
"What?" I sighed. I was honestly done with all this. I was ready to go home and forget about all this royal crap. I was ready to go back to not being the Queen of England but the starting girl quarterback of Stanford. That's where I belong. That's where I need to be.
"Let's go. We have a huge game to win." Carter said wrapping an arm around me. I relaxed, letting a smile small grow onto my face.
"And that is why I love you." I said sinking into his side. I need to get into game mode. I needed to forget these last 24 hours ever even happened.
"Wait up." Carter and I stopped walking. We turned around and saw all of our friends walking up to us, being careful to not ruin their outfits. I forgot they were even here.
"You guys better not be leaving without us. We have a game to get to." Spencer said with his arm around Dani. She nodded, relaxing into his side. Well those two certainly got closer on this trip. At least there was something good from it.
"Don't forget about us!" Brandon said while Maddie nodded.
"Although we don't go to Stanford, we especially don't belong here." Sam said joking. Jenna whacked his side, causing the tension to disperse.
"Let's go then." Carter said smirking. He was in game mode now too. The only thing we had on our mind was beating the Wildcats.
"Already ahead of you." Sam said walking towards the grand staircase. We all followed closely behind. I took a look down, seeing that no one came after me. It was odd, but I let go of that thought.
Once Carter and I were back in our room, I stripped out of my expensive dress. I quickly grabbed a pair of sweats and a hoodie and slipped them on. I instantly felt normal and began to pack.
We packed all of our stuff up and met with everyone in the hallway. Everyone was dressed in sweats, ready to forget about this place. Together we walked out of the palace, hoping it would be the last time i'd have to step foot in England.
-
Grabbing my pair of cleats, I walked towards my locker. I quickly slid them on over my maroon socks, allowing myself to think briefly at my last four years.
Today was my last day as the starting quarterback for Stanford. It was my last day playing football, ever. Well, hopefully a professional team will decide to hire me but I doubt it since no girl has ever played in the NFL. I'm lucky to have been the first ever female college football player ever. I'm immensely proud of what I have accomplished. I set a path for other young girls that want to be football players too. I just hope that they get accepted like I was.
Stanford has been amazing. They knew they would get hate for allowing a girl on their team but even more for allowing her to be a starter, a starting quarterback at that. They didn't bother to think twice about me being a girl. They treated me like one of the guys and because of it, I have long-term friends.
"Are you okay princess?" I heard Carter's voice ask. I looked up through my helmet to see Carter standing in front of me. I quickly nodded. I was more than okay and it was all because of him. He has been my rock these last five years. Sure, we've had some ups and downs, but he has been with me since day one. He's my everything and hopefully one day, my dad will be able to see that.
"I can't believe just 20 hours ago we were in England, running away from your marriage ordeal." Carter joked. I glared at him, wanting to forget that even happened. Me being Queen is now officially over. I just wanted to move on with my life. I wanted to forget about that horrible part of my life.
"Martin, don't piss her off. We need her game ready." Spencer called from across the hall. I smirked. Thanks Spencer.
"Don't tell me what to do Hyland." Carter growled. I rolled my eyes. He needs to learn to like him. We've been friends with him for too long for him to still hate him.
"Stop it Carter." I said slapping his shoulder. Carter glared at him before turning to look at me. I sat back down into my locker. I looked around, seeing the rest of the team thinking, not socializing. I bet they were all having the same thoughts I was.
I was so ready for this game. We were all ready for it. We just needed to play four quarters, 12 minutes each. We just needed to stay in game mode for 48 minutes. We can do this. I can do this. I am ready for this. We are going to win and I am going to make sure of that. We have come a long way for us not to.
"Cardinals!" Coach called out. I quickly took my helmet off, ready to hear what Coach has to say.
"I hope you are all ready. This is it. The moment we have all been waiting for. The moment we have been practicing for from the start. For some this will be your very first time stepping onto the field in a championship game. For others, this will be your very last time. I am tremendously proud of all of you. You've worked hard to get here and now it's come. Now let's go out there and beat some Wildcat butt. Solano!"
I turned to look at Coach and saw he was gesturing for me to begin a speech now. Well this is it. I took a deep breath before beginning.
"Thanks Coach for those encouraging words. I just wanna thank each and every one of you for allowing me to come onto your team and play. I know it wasn't easy for you guys to allow a girl to play, much less allow her to play quarterback, a starting quarterback at that. But you all stood behind me and I can not thank you enough. This may be my very last football game ever. I don't know what's going to happen in the future for me, but I know it'll be great. Now for the very last time of my college football career, LET'S GO OUT THERE AND KICK SOME BUTT!" I shouted at the end. The locker room erupted in hoots and hollers. We were all ready. It was game time.
-
Sliding my helmet off, I grabbed a water bottle from one of the athletic trainers on the sideline. I took a large gulp before sliding my helmet back on. This was it. This was the end. There was only time for one more play. This would make or break how it ends. I jogged back onto the field with my team. It was the last time i'd ever be on this field, with this team. My last game ever.
"Alright. We have 9 seconds left. We're on 3rd and 12. We're down by 5 so we need to make this touchdown." I explained. All the guys watched me carefully, waiting for my signal.
"What's the play?" Carter asked. Spencer and Carter were still my running backs, sticking next to me the entire season, even through their very immature fights.
"Let's do something not in the book." I smirked. The guys widened their eyes, surprised at my words.
"I'm so down." Brandon spoke. I let my smirk grow even wider. I had to stop hanging out with Carter so much.
"Carter, you ready?" I asked. His eyes lit up. Carter instantly knew what I was talking about.
"Same play as senior year?" He asked with his huge smirk. I nodded.
"Yeah. That one." I said feeling the excitement bubble within me.
"Alright. Alex and I are switching positions. She's going to get the ball and toss it to me. She's going to run into the in-zone and wait for me to throw the ball to her. Everyone else, act like she has the ball and block!" Carter told them.
"Wait, is that even allowed?" One of the guys asked. I rolled my eyes. Did they not read the rule book cover to cover?
"Yeah, as long as Carter doesn't cross the line of scrimmage, he's free to do whatever he wants with the ball." I explained.
"10 seconds left Stanford!" One of the referees called out.
"Alright guys. One last time." I shouted, putting my hand in the middle of the huddle. They all followed, putting their hand on top of mine.
"Stanford on three." I shouted. I took a deep breath. "One, two three!"
We quickly got lined up at the Arizona 23. We just had to run the ball 23 yards. We can do this. We had to do this. I looked up and saw the ball lined up. I took another deep breath before beginning the play.
"Hut hut!" I caught the ball from the center and looked around. I saw Carter come up next to me. I quickly handed him the ball before sprinting across the field, making sure it looked like I still had it. I took a few turns, making sure not to get blocked by the defense, before I found myself on the one yard line. They stopped chasing me, noticing that Carter had the ball.
I looked up and saw that the ball was zooming past everyone. The Wildcats had no clue what was happening. They stood there stunned. I saw one defender trying to catch the ball. The rest didn't move. The ball was soon about 3 feet away from me. I jumped, knowing it would be too high for me to catch on the ground. I stretched my arms out before I found myself gasping for air. I couldn't see anything. I felt like I was being buried by a thousand pounds of bricks. I tried to wiggle myself out before I soon heard a whistle being blown. I must have gotten tackled.
One by one, the players got off of me. I was now able to breath. The light started to shine and I instantly got hit with reality. I looked down at my hands seeing the ball safely tucked into my chest. I held on to the ball, even after I was tackled by Arizona.
"Touchdown!"
I got up from the ground and saw the fans go wild. I looked down and saw that I was barely in the in-zone, maybe a mere inches, but it was enough to get a touchdown.
"Congrats!" I felt a hard body hit me on the side. I struggled to keep my balance before looking to see who hit me. I took my helmet off and saw it was Spencer.
"We did it princess. It worked!" Carter said coming up beside him.
"I am still so surprised that we actually faked the entire play and Arizona had no idea." Brandon said coming towards us with the rest of the team. They all had smiles on their faces. We won and was surreal.
"Solano!" Coach called out. I quickly jogged over to him.
"Yeah Coach?" I asked. I was slightly afraid of what he would say. I went against his coaching in order to play my way.
"I am proud of you and everything you have accomplished on this team. Now go get that trophy Alex!" He said pushing me towards the makeshift stage. I gave him a large grin before jogging back over to my team. They were all excited to receive the trophy. I turned and saw crowds of people waiting to run onto the field.
I looked towards the center, seeing that they had built a stage in the middle of the field in the last few minutes. I watched my team walk over to the stage. I stood my ground and took in my surroundings.
There were news reporters and cameras all around me. They wanted to capture this moment just like I did. I wanted to remember it. It was a once in a lifetime thing. I heard my name being called by my team. I squished in between the crowds of people in order to join my team on stage.
"Hello. Welcome to the annual Pac-12 Championship. I am here to declare the Stanford Cardinals as the champions!" One of the head football directors of the NCAA Division I said into a microphone. The crowd went wild at that. Soon the trophy was being handed to the director. It was large and gold. It was beautiful. "Congratulations Stanford! You guys battled hard. You deserve this."

The director kissed the trophy before handing it off to me. I held it in my arms, hearing the crowd roar even louder. A microphone was soon passed off to Spencer. Let's see what this goof has to say.
"Hello. I am Spencer Hyland, captain of the Cardinals. I would just like to say thank you for coming out and supporting us. Thank you for always believing in my sidekick here." Sencer said throwing an arm around me. "Alex here has battled a lot to get where we are. She is the first ever collegiate female football player. We are insanely proud of her for getting here. We'd like to dedicate this to you." Spencer said pointing towards a jersey that was in a frame. Carter was holding it. It was a Cardinal jersey with the number one on the back and the word princess on the back.
"Oh my god." I said groaning. I knew Spencer would do something like that. He probably that it was a great fit, considering I am a royal.
"Don't worry princess. No one knows your true identity." Carter said whispering in my ear. I rolled my eyes.
"Thank you!" I shouted towards the team.
"We love you Alex!" They all shouted back. I let my smile show, being the biggest I had ever had. I was tremendously happy that we won but I was even happier I was able to do it with such an amazing team by my side. I would never forget them or this amazing experience. I'm grateful I got to live my dream. The guys were then pushing me to the center of the stage. Spencer handed me the microphone. I'm guessing they want me to give a speech.
"My football career is now officially over but I couldn't be more grateful for everything that I have been able to live. It was tough to be the first girl football player to be in college but it was even tougher to be taken seriously. I am truly blessed to have been given the chance to play for such an amazing team and school. Thank you to each and every one of you. You all impacted me in a positive way and I couldn't be any happier. Thank you." I said letting a tear slip. The crowd erupted in cheers. I felt myself be happy. I was sad, but I was even happier. This was it. I was officially done. It was now time to move onto the next chapter in my life. And this one, would not involve crowns.