Chapter Text
Manuela always wanted to play football but her parents never allowed her to join a team when she was little. This made her ask some of the castels staff to play with her but when she got older and better this did not bring much joy to her anymore she wanted a real challenge, to play with a real team, to win and lose together and to be with other girls that share her one true passion. When she asked her mother, the queen, if she could play for the country's female football team, her mother told her that that wasn’t how a princess should behave, that no one would ever want to marry her if she rolls around in mud all day. Slowly a plan formed in the young princesses mind, maybe she could find a way to play for the neighbouring country’s team.
The timing of her mothers and fathers long two month long trip to another country was brilliant for her plan to be set into motion. Two days after her parents left she saddled her horse, a beautiful Palomino stallion named Mateo, whom she had gotten for her 16 birthday. Her parents had pretty much hidden her away after her fifth birthday, so she could grow up a bit more normal and she had never tried to fight them on it but now that she was nearly 18 she just wanted to live her life now and do what she wanted and not what her parents expected her to want. They had kept her away from all expectations for most of her life and then dumped them all on her at once. Luckily she knew all the secret ways to escape from the castle’s grounds, which aided her in her escape, just like the close proximity of the kingdom's borders.
After half an hour of riding, she finally found the place she was looking for, the training ground, and she could already hear voices screaming at each other. She took her bag from Mateo’s back and then tied him to a post close to a water bin, so he could drink while she was away. The dark blond slowly walked closer to where the other girls were training, with her bag slung over her shoulder. Watching them for a few minutes she spotted the cutest girl she had ever seen. Tall and lanky, with unruly, light brown curls tied into a ponytail, the girl was running across the playing field the ball glued to her foot and Manuela could see, that she wasn’t even looking at the ball, instead looking for room and her teammates to create the best situation for a goal. Another few minutes later she finally got noticed by the coach of the team.
“Hey, did you get lost?” He asked her, while looking her up and down. She was still clad in her riding gear which might have confused him a bit.
“Ehhh… No actually I wanted to ask if I could become part of the team, I’m new in the area. I brought my own training gear too.” She said shuffling her feet, she was scared that he was going to say no.
“Okay, but the only position we need is a goalie. If you can do that and make a good impression during this training session, then you can stay.” The older man told her. “I’m the couch by the way. Hansi Flick but you can call me Hansi.”
“Oh…erm Manuela, Manu for short and I actually was the goalie in my old team.” Manu said, getting out her gloves and then shaking his hand.
“Okay that's brilliant. Then go get changed and I will introduce you to the team.” She quickly ran to the changing room to get into her gear.
Pulling her hair into a ponytail she walked back onto the pitch, coming to a halt next to the coach, who whistled loudly to call the others to him. “Girls, this is Manuela…”
“Manu.” The girl corrected him waving at her new teammates.
“Manu right. This is Manu, she is new in the area and wants to be part of our team. Her position is in the goal and with Svenja moving two weeks ago, we desperately need a second goalie in case Alexa gets hurt. Please be nice to her. Thamina please show her around a bit you are the captain now.” The cute girl Manu had watched, when she arrived, nodded, while looking at her with pinched eyes. Then Hansi clapped his hands. “So field players stay here please. Alexa and Manu, you go over to Toni.”
“Hi Manu. I’m Alexa or Alex and Lex for short. Please never call me Lexy, only Nikola is allowed to do that.” The other keeper held out her hand for a fist bump.
“Ehh okay sure but uhh who is Nikola?”
“Oh right. She is my girlfriend.” Alexa pointed behind them to the group of field players. “She is the tallest there and part of our defence.”
The training was over quickly and Hansi and Toni told her that she had done a good job during the training and could consider herself part of the team now.
In the changing room all of the other players introduced themselves and after they finished changing Thamina pulled on the side. “Hey Manu as you’re probably aware by now I’m Thamina or Mina for short and I’m the current captain.” The lanky brunette explained and then laughed with the prettiest laugh Manu had ever heard to this day. “I will show you around a bit and then maybe we can get a cup of coffee.”
If a smile could have killed, Manu would have died then and there. She couldn’t be falling for a girl she knew for about two minutes, could she?
Over the next weeks the tall blond Princess learnt that she could indeed be falling for a girl she didn’t really knew at the time. As she grew closer and closer with Thamina and her time with the team flew by, the day of her parents' return also came closer and closer and with that her birthday too. That event marked the first big celebration her parents hosted in what to her was a lifetime, and was also supposed to be her introduction back into royalty. She hadn’t accompanied her parents to a ball since she had been little.
The days leading up to the big celebration had been so hectic that she couldn’t go to the team training and had faked being sick to get out of it. Leaving her teammates hanging like that hurt her but her mother watched her like a hawk so there was no other way.
The day of the ball she was super nervous, being whisked away to get ready in the early hours. She had gotten so used to wearing pants and a ponytail, that being in a long dress and open hair felt weird to her. During lunch she had gotten a happy birthday sms from her friends and teammates, Manu felt really sad, that she wasn’t spending the day with her friends instead of being forced to go through this pompous party. Once the first guests were arriving she was ushered into a little room where she was supposed to be waiting for her own big entrance. While scrolling through her phone she was listening to the names of royalties, when suddenly a very familiar name was called out.
“Princess Thamina.” It couldn’t be her, Manuela wasn’t sure, she never had really cared for royalty so she didn’t know what the other princess and princes looked like. So distracted by that name, she nearly missed her own que to go and have her big entrance. Stood on top of the stairs that lead down to the ballroom, she caught the slightly mismatched eyes of her crush. It really was her Thamina or Thamy, how she had started to call the brown haired girl, who was looking at her with a slight smile on her face. The blond barely made it down the stairs, having nearly missed at step. At first she kept away from her friend, because she didn’t know what to say to her. The girl she fell in love with was also a princess.
The evening progressed without them talking to each other, until Manuela felt someone tap her shoulder at the beginning of a slow song. “You wanna dance with me.” The beautiful curly brunette held out her hand, which Manu grabbed, just to be pulled onto the dance floor immediately.
“You look beautiful in red.” The taller blond remarked.
“You always look beautiful but especially in blue.” This remark made the blond blush profusely. “You know Ela I have known you were a princess since the evening after our coffee date.”
“But how?” Manuela was very confused, how could she have known.
“You seemed so familiar when I saw you during our first training together and even more so during the coffee date, so I went home after and looked through old photos and found one form when i was around five of me and another little girl that resembled you a lot, the same beautiful piercing blue eyes and blond fine hair. I asked my mother about her and she told me about how that was the princess of a different kingdom and how her parents had kept her completely out of the spotlight and any royal affairs after an incident with paparazzis. When she told me her name I knew it was you. I wanted to tell you about this so badly but I was scared, there probably was a reason why you didn’t tell us you are a princess. So I decided to not tell you I am one too and told the others not to tell you either. You didn’t seem to recognise me and I did not want to scare you away. Especially not with... “ She broke off there, looking down at their slowly moving feet.
“With what?” That last bit made Manuela very curious. Could it be that… No she was absolutely sure that couldn’t be it...
“Especially with the feelings I started to have for you Ela… I know you probably don’t feel the same but I love you.” She tried to turn away from the blond, but Manuela grabbed her arm and then softly put a hand on her cheek.
“I love you too Thamy.” With that she kissed her on the middle of the dance floor at her own birthday party.