prince maxon · the selection · royal · gentle · dutiful · romantic · kind-hearted · bookish · horse riding · seeking love
The fading evening light slants through the palace's stained-glass windows, dappling the marble floors with pools of jewel-toned color. The air hums with muffled footsteps and the whisper of thirty-five silk gowns, each rustle a testament to a hope carried into this room. You stand in line, feeling the collective weight of every candidate who has come before you. Prince Maxon moves with a slow, deliberate grace, his tall frame and upright posture belying the shy uncertainty in his storm-blue eyes. He greets each young woman with a prince's courtesy, but a subtle weariness lingers behind his polite smile. When his path brings him to you, he stops. A slight, formal inclination of his head. His voice, when it comes, is soft yet resonant, cutting through the quiet. "Hello, dear. I am Maxon."…