#illea

[captainsophiestark]

Pranksters

Maxon Schreave x Reader

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Written for Fictober 2024!

Fandom: The Selection Series

Day Thirteen Prompt: "That's not the point."

Summary: Maxon and his spouse haven't had a moment to breathe since before the end of the Selection. Now, long after their marriage, they're taking some much needed fun and family time.

Word Count: 1,284

Category: Fluff

A/N: Barely got this one in on the 13th, but barely still counts!

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Sh!"

I whirled around, finger on my lip to make the point to my husband. King Maxon Schreave crouched behind me, a faint smile on his face as he shook his head at me.

"I'm confident this is a good idea," I whispered, keeping my voice as low as possible. "We both need the fun, and Adele's kids were asking for it when they found a way to sneak in and short sheet our bed."

"Ah," said Maxon, nodding sagely like something had just clicked. "So they pranked us, and we need to prank them for revenge."

"No! That's not the point! It has nothing to do with revenge."

Maxon raised an eyebrow, but I just huffed.

"Maxon, we've had the weight of the kingdom on our shoulders since before we were married. You've had it on yours for your entire life! We're having a truly rare weekend off to spend with family, and we are owed some carefree fun in our twenties, alright?"

Maxon's eyebrows had raised part way through my answer, but now they'd relaxed back into a sweet smile. His eyes got a soft look in them that I truly couldn't get enough of, and he leaned into me a little.

"Have I told you lately that you are absolutely wonderful? And that I love you?" he asked. I matched his smile and leaned back into him.

"About an hour ago, at dinner. But I'm happy to hear it again."

Maxon leaned the rest of the way in and repeated himself, speaking right by my ear. I sighed, letting myself enjoy the rare moment of peace together. Sure, we were about to enact a much-needed pranking operation, but this was our vacation. We could take a moment to ourselves, too.

Since the end of the Selection, things had been stressful and high-stakes for Maxon and I. From learning about the rebels to learning about his father, the two of us had been dealing with heavy things since before our engagement. But with the attack from the Southern Rebels and the deaths of Maxon's parents, we'd been thrown immediately into the role of leading an entire country, the two of us, even before our wedding. We'd managed it just like we managed everything else—together—but it had never been easy, and for Maxon especially, it meant constant responsibility with very little breathing room. So, when we found a few days away from the palace with his Aunt Adele and some of our other closest family and friends, I decided to take the opportunity to give him a truly fun and carefree night like he should've had a long time ago.

And right now, that meant pranking all of our cousins before spending the rest of the night together doing whatever we wanted.

"Okay, come on," I said, leaning back from Maxon and shuffling a little towards the door of the big suite where all of Adele's kids were staying. "The hallway looks clear, let's go."

I rushed forward, staying quiet and low to the ground. Maxon followed right on my heels, practically bouncing and with a big grin on his face. It made my heart do backflips.

"Do you have the key?" I whispered to him. He nodded, slipping the key to the room out of his pocket.

"Perks of being the king," he whispered back with a wink. I took the key, letting my hand linger on his for a moment.

"Alright, let's do this."

I unlocked the door, then passed Maxon back the key. As planned, the room was totally empty. Everyone else was having a movie night downstairs. Maxon and I had excused ourselves with a made-up stomache ache on my part, then headed straight here.

"So what do we do first?" asked Maxon. He hovered right over my shoulder, ready to follow my lead. I smiled and turned around to face him.

"We have to move fast, so we can't do everything we brainstormed last night. But why don't you pick where we start? Dried nail polish puddle that looks like it spilled on their beds? Gelatin in the milk so they can't pour it out or take a drink like normal? Or potato to replace the soap bar?"

Maxon shook his head, but he was also grinning at me.

"Let's... start with the milk?"

"Sounds like a perfect plan to me."

Maxon and I moved through the room with less efficiency than I would've needed for a successful prank on my siblings back home, but this way was also more fun. Maxon was clearly having the time of his life causing a little harmless mischief, possibly because it was the first time in his life he'd been allowed to cause harmless mischief. We managed to set up all of our favorite prank ideas before heading back to the hallway, just a few minutes later than I'd been planning for us to make our escape.

Not a moment sooner than we got the door closed and locked again, we heard voices and footsteps coming our way from down the hall. Maxon whirled to me with wide eyes, and I fought to hold in a laugh as I grabbed his hand and pulled him after me in the opposite direction.

We made it around two corners before Maxon gave in, laughing as he fell into step beside me and pulled me closer. I shushed him, but it was pretty half-hearted.

"That was so much fun," he breathed when we finally made it back to our room. He slumped against the door, grinning from ear to ear, and I moved to stand in front of him with the same expression.

"I'm glad you thought so. We're probably going to have to be on alert for the rest of our vacation for buckets of water in doorways and similar forms of payback from the kids."

"Worth it," he breathed, reaching out to wrap an arm around my waist. He pulled me into his chest, and I leaned against him, resting my hands on his shoulders. I closed the rest of the distance between us to pull Maxon into a sweet, slow kiss. We took our time, and when we eventually pulled apart, Maxon had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What's up?" I asked, moving one hand up to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. Maxon's smile took on a softer tone as he met my eyes.

"Nothing. Just... thinking about what it will be like when we get to do things like this with our kids. Someday."

I grinned. "You better start taking notes, sweetheart, because I'm calling team kid now. We're gonna work together to level the playing field against the literal king."

"Hmm, I suppose I'll have to come up with a better proposition for them then, won't I? Thankfully, you have plenty of experience with pranks, so I think I may be able to convince the kids to team up with me to level the playing field against a pranking master."

I laughed, shaking my head and pulling Maxon in for another kiss.

"Well, depending on how many we have, we might not get a choice. They might team up against us, leaving you and I to team up with each other or fall to their pranking power."

"Whichever version we get... I can't wait."

Maxon's eyes shone as he pulled me in for another kiss, and the love seemed to literally make him glow. I hoped he could see I radiated the same happiness. Whether we were dealing with the weight of the world or plotting hypothetical pranks, it always made things a million times better to be doing it with Maxon.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen

The Selection Taglist: @valkyriepirate

[elif-in-wonderland]

I re-read THE SELECTION! Now I’m half way towards the end of Happily Ever After. Marlee’s part really is my Favourite.

I love these series so much. Kiera Casa doesn’t have any idea how much I needed these books back in 2021 when I remembered I had to read them :)) And now I’m going though all the feelings I went back then and I’m loving it. I love Maxon, the most perfect baby to ever exist. I love America even if she annoyed me with her Aspen and her stupid decisions sometimes 😂 I love Marlee and Carter and Lucy and all the girls there. Queen Amberly was such a sweetheart. And yes, I love Celeste :)) she is the character development, she is the myth, the legend and she is the moment 😜

I think I don’t like few people in this story. Well, I didn’t like Aspen until he got with Lucy. So, the remaining one, Clarkson Schreave, is the only character I hate hahahah 😅

[acourtofquestions]

America Singer 🤝 Aelin Galathynius

RED HAIR REBELLION

[marlinspirkhall]

I watched the unaired Selection pilots so you don't have to

But, if you want to, you can do so here, and here (password: “selection”), credit to Media Garage on YouTube

Edit: links no longer active

The Selection (2012)

Strong Hunger Games vibes throughout, the plain-text opening screen isn't helping

Stock-footage of rolling hills gets replayed way too much

ETHAN PECK?

Unlike in the books, America only finds out she's been entered into The Selection after she gets selected, so the plot point about the photoshoot & her radiant smile being the thing which gets her selected no longer applies, I guess

Everyone in the YouTube comments was saying that Aspen and Maxon were miscast & the actors' roles should have been swapped (... No comment. I believe in you, Mr Peck)

This castle is looks too small to fit 24 TV show contestants in it

Fiona, unprompted: “Can you keep a secret, America?”

America: “I have been known to”

Fiona: “I play the violin”

Okay? (This is actually a very sweet moment and, again, Fiona may be the best actress in this)

This episode covered a significant portion of the first book, out of order, which makes me wonder if the intention was to cover all 3 books in one series.

This almost feels like half of a film, making me wonder if someone adapted a film spec script into a tv show spec script

Apparently, Fiona has a secret child and Celeste knows about it, causing Fiona to drop out on day one and tearfully warn America to “trust no one, there's no such thing as friends here”- which is a fucking wild thing to say when she's probably the only contestant who's been nice to America so far & Celeste didn't even need to get to know her to know her secrets because she has spies anyway 😭

It's worth reminding you that they have been at the palace for one entire day total

You think Queen Amberly is being fleshed out in this version but... Hmm

Amberly appears to be the one pulling the strings from behind the scenes (she confronts Celeste about extorting Fiona, tells her "she would have gone home in due time" and to "leave America to me. Anything we do to try and separate them [her and Maxom] will only make him want her more")

Again: IT HAS BEEN A DAY

America sees her servant gathering all her dresses (none of which she has used yet, bar the yellow and green ones) including the iconic blue one from the book cover. America asks what's happening and the servant replies: “Prince Maxom's orders”

Cut to America's family. They open a box with a glittering pair of high heels inside. I guess this is supposed to mirror the part of the book where Maxom cuts off the stipend for 2's and 3's who are in the selection?

If you think this version feels unfaithful to the book, just wait until you see The CW's pilot

IT HAS BEEN ONE DAY

Runtime: one day 45 minutes

Final rating: 5/10, kinda long and stiff in places and the set design was all over the place. Felt like a Hallmark movie (the set design didn't help). Probably would watch another episode of this if it was a full series or a limited series of 3-6 episodes. A little script-doctoring and a better set would work wonders.

The Selection (2013)

I cannot stress enough: this version begins with a sex scene between Maxom and a servant

Okay, I got ahead of myself; it actually begins with another hunger-games-esque black screen with text on it, text which reads “Someday, in the future”, which is read aloud by a woman's voice.

We zoom in on a much roomier-looking castle on a hill, as a random whip sound effect plays (leading into the sex scene, in which no whips are present)

All the female servants in the palace are dressed in sexy maid costumes and I wish I was kidding

The world map explaining the history of Illea is CONFUSING AS HELL, but maybe they hadn't nailed down all the details yet. I'm genuinely not sure

ANTONY HEAD?

Aspen is introduced tied to a St Andrew's cross and being watched over by a guard. America asks the guard to free him, he chases her through the streets, she circles back and cuts Aspen down

America's selection is similar to the 2012 pilot, except Aspen is present. America asks her mom why she'd enter her into the selection when “You know I'm with Aspen”, so uh, I guess they're not keeping it a secret here.

There's also no mention of Aspen being of a lower caste than her, nor of America having a job other than the vague title of "laboring class" which hangs over them all, vaguely

This is a masterclass in editing and pacing. The dialogue is okay, but the added geopolitics make no sense. Any issues with this are smoothed over by the fact that the plot keeps moving forwards at a breakneck pace to keep you distracted.

The lack of breathing room would probably be too confusing for an audience who wasn't already familiar with The Selection

The set here is absolutely beautiful but unfortunately it gives me Merlin vibes, and casting Antony Head as the king does not help with this.

Maxon attempts to pull a Mr Darcy. He then tells America that if she runs away with Aspen, the guards will beat him to a pulp and they'll both spend the rest of their lives in prison. America suggests that she make the monarchy look good so the working class don't side with the rebels. Looks like we're going full Hunger Games.

Celeste's handmaiden seems way too devoted to her; they turn out to be lovers

Just when you think Maxon might start redeeming himself, we see the palace guards swarm Aspen and kicking him. Maxom stands nearby on his horse overseeing this so there's no question of whether he did it or not

Final rating: 6/10, I would absolutely watch another episode of this. It was an absolute mess, but I've seen teen wolf, so I'm not gonna pretend I'm above it.

This feels like the kind of pilot which would get greenlit just to attract hateviewers.

Summary:

Neither protagonist had red hair and neither adaptation was trying particularly hard to give it to her (2012: dark red box dye. 2013: blonde!)

These actors are doing their best and some of them even seem to be having fun (good for them)

In the 2013 pilot, the writers lampshade America running around “like an action hero”, but she promptly forgets how to do that by the midpoint of the episode, so w/e

It feels like the 2013 pilot was a reworking of the 2012 pilot, because there were too many similarities carried over from one script to another which weren't present in the original book, like Fiona having a secret relationship.

I forgot to mention that Aspen has a brother in the 2013 pilot. He seems to be adapted from the palace guard who has a relationship with one of the contestants in a later book.

I can't get over how fucking weird of a decision it is to make the kind and likeable love interest into a power-corrupt despot, but it does feel more true to an actual monarchy. I assume they were trying to give Maxon a bad-boy vibe, which doesn't make much sense because that's supposed to be Aspen's whole deal.

There was a whole subplot in both pilots where an advisor character is revealed to be working with the rebels at the end of the episode

Extremely funny to me that the 2012 pilot makes a point of mentioning that sex before marriage is illegal and the 2013 pilot opens with premarital sex with the prince regent

[organatwins]

We open on a scene very similar to that of OTGWs first ep, A light conversation between two kids can be heard before you see them coming into frame. We pan over frames of the dense and dark forest before our protagonists (Ilea and Ben) come into frame and are shown to be the ones talking

Ilea (ill-ee-uh) is 14 years old and Ben is 8. They are holding hands as they make their way through the thick fog. Ben is leading the conversation, talking mostly nonsense with bits and pieces of words and phrases that the audience would recognize in a sleepy tone. Ilea is agreeing with a lazy smile on their face, clearly not paying too much attention, but happy to listen to his voice regardless.

It’s getting progressively darker as they move through the woods, and the more Ben talks, the sleepier he gets. Soon enough he begins slurring his words a bit and falling behind Illea. They notice quickly and stop to check in with him.

“Tired, bud?” “mhmm”

Ilea lets out a deep sigh, not one of annoyance but more. Preparatory. And proceeds to crouch down to their knees for Ben to climb on their back. He does so without question and just barely snuggles into their neck as if he's done so several times before and as if he felt more comfortable there.

“You still gotta stay awake though, okay?” “I know...” “...We’ll reach town soon. I promise.”

With this, we get a closer look at Ilea and Ben. They have deep and dark bags under their eyes, and can barely keep them open regardless. Ilea stumbles a bit as they continue walking, exhaustion clear in the way they stagger through their steps. Their clothes are dirty and torn in some places, and the two could use a thorough cleaning themselves as well.

We cut to a frame facing Ilea head-on, hanging their head so you can’t see their eyes as they trudge through the forest. We hear a woman laughing loud and bright in the far distance and then more joining in. Ilea’s head snaps up, and we can see a light reflected in their brown eyes. They smile just enough to be noticeable, but not any more than that.

The closer they get the more conversation we hear, as well as light music playing. Propping up Ben so that he’s not slipping off their back as they walk, Ilea heads towards the light she sees through the trees, knowing it to be the town they were searching for.

At the edge of the woods, before they are noticed by any townsfolk, Ilea sets Ben back down on his feet. They crouch down to get eye level with him and whisper about staying close together. Ilea goes over the rules they have set for Ben in these situations, relaying them with such a confidence that you know they know these rules by heart.

Ben nods along, not looking like he's following any of it as he rubs the sleep from his eyes and yawns long and loud. Ilea sighs and pulls up his hood, as well as their own, before grabbing his hand and leading him into town.

Ileas movements are deliberate and careful, extremely practiced. They keep their head low as they move past the patio bar in which they had heard the jovial cheers, pulling Ben close to their side as people in town move past them.

Ilea is muttering to themselves here and there things like “it should be just around the corner.” and other directional phrases that let the audience know they’re lost but know where they want to be going. Ben is lazily looking around, taking in his surroundings, as Ilea lets go of his hand to pull a datapad out of their bag.

Ben quickly spots a night market stand selling street foods, and looks up to a distracted Ilea before deciding he will be back before they even notice he's gone.

He makes his way over to the stand, run by a twi’lek woman who takes note of the young boy out late and by himself almost immediately. She welcomes him to the stand, giving him a free sample before she asks him if he's okay and where his family is, aiming for casual in hopes of not frightening the child.

Before she can get very far in her line of questioning, Ilea rushes over and reprimands Ben for running off by himself. The stand owner is relieved to see his family, but can’t help but notice how young Ilea is as well. She asks Ilea if they know where their parents are. Ilea looks distrustful of the woman’s intentions and simply replies “Yes. and they told us not to speak to strangers.” before grabbing Ben’s hand and swiftly taking an exit.

Middle middle middle theres a whole plot about Ilea stealing data from library datapads blah blah blah its like a thing and is important in the long run because later you find out what the info theyre looking for IS but not now so im not about to type all of that in that much fucking detail. Anyways. Heres the end of the pilot:

Ilea has set up a campsite, the fire burning being their only source of light. Ilea sets an alarm on their datapad and tells Ben he has an hour to get some sleep. Ben practically falls onto the makeshift cot they had made for him and falls asleep instantly. Ilea attempts to keep their eyes open, but exhaustion swiftly overtakes them as well.

When they wake, it’s with a groan, holding onto their head as a headache pounds against their skull. They’re slightly disoriented as they stand, looking around to try and figure out their surroundings. Ben is gone, and so is the woods around them as well as their campsite.

They are now standing in sublevel tunnels, somewhere they don’t recognize but still feels bone achingly familiar. The audience will quickly recognize these as the tunnels in cloud city. Their breathing starts to pick up in pace, almost hyperventilating as they spin around to try and find Ben (an effort they know from past experience is useless, but still an instinct they follow nonetheless)

We see their head snap to face the audience as the faint sounds of deep breaths through a modulator can be heard. A red light illuminates their face as we hear a lightsaber being ignited as well.

Cut to Ilea being startled awake from their spot in the woods. Panting heavily and drenched in sweat. They take a second to slow their breathing before turning to make sure Ben is still sleeping soundly on his cot. They stare him over, clear signs of distress on his face as he fights away nightmares himself. Ilea takes him in for a moment, eyebrows furrowing more the longer they look.

Ilea makes quick work of packing up the campsite while Ben continues to twitch in his sleep. They wait for a few beats until the datapad’s alarm sounds off, Ben waking up swiftly with the sound. He groans and whines as Ilea stands him up to roll up his cot. He asks if they’re sure he can’t sleep any longer, and without answering Ilea crouches down for Ben to climb on their back. He does so with a sigh, snuggling up to them once more.

Ben Yawns. “I hope we make it to Yavin IV soon…”

Ilea sighs. “We will, bud. I promise.”

They keep walking.

[olympestael]

𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐝𝐞 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒍

ooc: os presentes listados foram entregues pessoalmente por olympe ou deixados nos respectivos dormitórios antes do dia 25, já que ela não foi vista no castelo durante esse dia! e sim, muitos presentes foram dados porque é uma das linguagens do amor dela, mas saibam que vai negar todos os rolês daqui pra frente porque está completamente pobre.

• tony (@princesasapatona): esses foram especificamente deixados no quarto da princesa, já que sabia que não se encontrariam no dia. havia uma caixinha com um anel de folhas de carvalho, cujo significado, de acordo com sua pesquisa pessoal, é: representatividade de força, estabilidade e nobreza — símbolos que lembram-na da princesa. além disso, se combinado com acorns como no design, também podem representar poder, vitória e autoridade. em outra caixinha, deixou uma vela perfumada e suas antigas anotações sobre tony em seus diários ao longo dos anos. por fim, também deixou uma adaga enrolada em um lenço.

• andré (@andrc): seguindo a linha de presentes que lembravam olympe da pessoa em questão, escolheu um conjunto de partituras de músicas que recordavam-na do príncipe e/ou acreditava que iria gostar, às quais embalou junto com um tocador de discos vintage, uma vela perfumada e uma versão falsificada dessa caneta (porque vinte e cinco mil reais é muita coisa)

• gabriel (@guardadoprincipe): para gabriel, olympe tentou e falhou miseravelmente na tarefa de fazer um caderno ela mesma, então buscou comprar um que fosse feito à mão e lhe lembrasse do irmão adotivo. também comprou uma vela perfumada, uma adaga e um suéter para usar no frio. e como uma forma de agradecer pelo guarda estar cuidando de si nos últimos meses, especialmente, também fez um bolo de laranja com calda seguindo a receita da senhora trintignat e deixou em seu dormitório.

à seguir estão as pessoas que olympe pode até não ser tão próxima no momento, mas que as interações compartilhadas foram o suficiente para que quisesse ao menos presentear de alguma forma!

• céline (@celivailles): ciente de que a mulher também tem um colar que não tira, muito similar ao seu, olympe tentou comprar uma gargantilha que combinasse com a peça.

• seraphine (@seraphineum): o anel foi uma lembrança instantânea da mulher para si.

• nicolás (@borbonsg): compartilhando o amor por cavalos, olympe tentou comprar algo que o lembrasse disso, terminando com um broche.

• sebastian (@illcasprince): também comprou um broche para o príncipe de illea, mas terminou a compra incerta se iria gostar.

• bernard (@bernwrd): para o guarda, comprou esse pingente e uma corrente combinando.

• vivienne (@vivimartin): para a selecionada, comprou essa gargantilha de borboleta, um animal à qual assimila muito sua imagem, talvez por assimilar a de louis às flores.

• louis (@flowerbcy): exatamente por assimilar o homem às flores, e como uma forma de agradecer pelas conversas que tiveram sobre, encomendou esse caderno no mesmo lugar que o de gabriel.

• maelle (@mgwan): o dela não é para ela em si. após resgatarem os filhotes de gato juntas, olympe enviou uma coleira para caso a selecionada desejasse adotar um deles ou qualquer outro animal no futuro.

[gwrgeous]

a plot based in the universe of ‘the selection’. the mother of muse a raised her to be the perfect lady. she’s intelligent, kind, heart and soul as beautiful as her face. muse a grows up dreaming about becoming a queen, “in love” with the prince, longing to be his wife. all her life was dedicated to be the chosen one, until one day she met muse b, a poor, humble and sensitive man, who never believed in love or had any expectations in life until they met. they are madly in love, but muse a’s mother refuses to accept any other destiny to her daughter except being the queen. she makes muse b break up with muse a, and then months/years later, there she is in the king’s palace as one of the 35 ladies from illea. everything seems to be fine, she’s one of the prince’s favorite, but one day she is walking in the garden and the man taking care of the flowers is muse b. 

[nekowithascythe]

Just thinking about how much someone like Illea from Azarinth Healer would work as a parahuman. Literally 90% of what she does is either being in mortal danger, training so she survive being in even more danger, or being bored because she is not in currently mortal danger at the moment so she is going to go get struck by magical bullshit super lightning.

[longsightmyth]

The dude rebel is named August Illea, because... because?

“You heard me right. I’m an Illéa. And by birth, too. This one will be by marriage sooner or later,” August said, nodding to the girl.

“Georgia Whitaker,” she said.

The casual assumption of name change shouldn't irk me as much as it does given current usa's Thing about it but since neither my stepmom nor my mom changed their last name in EITHER of their marriages it just rubs me the wrong way that it's just. Assumed. Idk. That could be personal.

(I guess Amberly did do the Good Southern Girl thing of replacing her middle name with her unmarried name, erasing her own middle name and also apparently refusing to hyphenate, so this isn't without precedent in these books, it's not a consistency or worldbuilding issue PER SE it just annoys me)

Also, "this one"? Bro.

[book--brackets]

Kyrria from Fairest and Ella Enchanted, Bayern from The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale, Illea from The Selection, Panem from The Hunger Games

Not The Selection!!! Nevertheless, they have all been added lol

[captainsophiestark]

Dive Bar

Maxon Schreave x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: The Selection Series

Summary: As one of the Elite, a finalist in the Selection, Y/N gets to bring Maxon to her hometown to show him around on an official royal visit.

Word Count: 1,841

Category: Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

I smiled, trying not to squint my eyes against the bright lights flashing in my face. All this time, and I still hadn't gotten used to that.

"Thank you all for coming, but we're going to have to call it a night! Our official tour of the city starts bright and early tomorrow morning, after all," said Maxon Schreave, the man I stood arm and arm  with, a brilliant smile on his face as he addressed the press. They kept cheering and taking pictures as the two of us smiled, nodded, bowed, then headed inside the hotel arm in arm.

As soon as we were through the doors, I sighed and let some of the tension ease out of my shoulders. Maxon kept his posture and demeanor proper until the elevator doors closed on us. Then he sighed, too, and turned to me with a tired smile.

"Well, that was certainly a long day. But I'm happy to be here with you."

I smiled, my face warming. Moments like this, just the two of us with no one else watching over our shoulders, were incredibly rare. I wanted to savor every second of it that I could.

"I'm glad you're here, too. And the tour tomorrow is going to be fun, even if it's also a media circus."

Maxon laughed, offering his arm to me again as the elevator doors opened and we stepped out together. Servants and staff waited to escort us to our  separate suites.

The two of us stopped to face each other in the  middle of the hallway, before going our separate ways. As one of the finalists in the Selection, I got to bring Maxon back to my hometown for a tour and a look at where I'd come from. Aside from being a fun  experience spending time with the man I loved in the place I called  home, it was also the first time we'd spent togehter without the other members of the Selection. Even with all the media and people surrounding our every step, it had been fun.

"I suppose I'll see you in the morning for the circus," said Maxon, taking my hands and staring into my  eyes with a sparkle of mischief in his I grinned back.

"Yeah. I'll see you then."

Maxon hesitated for a minute, then leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. I smiled even wider, although that was hardly possible, then said goodnight to Maxon and headed to my room.

I went through my regular nightly routine, sending my ladies in waiting away to get some rest of their own. I curled up in bed and closed my eyes, then started my mental clock running. I was going to give it a full half hour, to really minimize my chances of getting caught.

When I'd first heard about the hometown dates, I'd mentally planned a full week of various activities from when I'd lived here before someone burst my bubble. We were coming here with the Crown Prince, sole heir to Illea, while the rebels remained a threat. He would not be going anywhere the palace  hadn't planned and approved.

As someone who'd spent most of my time in this city far away from anything the palace would ever select, I'd been furious. What was the point of a home date if Maxon didn't actually get to see my home?

I knew better than to bring that up with anyone, though. So instead, I'd continued to make my own plan. If Maxon was on board, we were going to have the night of our lives.

I slid out from under the covers in the darkness, listening carefully for any sound or movement from my suite. When I heard nothing, I slipped into a more comfortable pair of  clothes (featuring beat-up blue jeans and a ballcap from my original wardrobe when I came to the palace), then headed to the window.

I'd worked in this hotel for a few odd jobs here and there, and I knew I could get to Maxon's room via balcony-hopping if I really wanted to. So that's what I did. I slipped out the window, closing it most of the way behind me so hopefully no one would notice, then moved carefully from one balcony to the other until I got to Maxon's room.

I listened at the window for a minute, and when I didn't hear any conversation, I leaned in to peek through. The room was empty save Maxon, who was just climbing into bed. I grinned and tapped on the window. He looked up, his face changing from surprised to delighted to concerned in a few  seconds. He glanced at the closed bedroom door behind him as he hurried to open the window for me.

"What are you doing here?" Maxon asked, his voice a frantic whisper. I grinned.

"Trying to take you on an adventure, if you're up for a little bit of risk."

Maxon hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the closed bedroom door again. Then, he looked back at me with a smile.

"Just let me get dressed."

I ended up having to help Maxon pick his outfit, since only a few things in his entire wardrobe would give him a chance at blending in with non-royals. I gave him an extra ballcap and told him to keep his head down, and within a few minutes, we were heading through the city to my absolute favorite spot.

"This is it!" I said proudly, turning with a smile to face Maxon. We stood on a dirty street, in front of a glowing red neon sign for my favorite place in the world. They sold the best shitty pizza and seriously toed the line of dive bar, and it had been one of the things I missed most since going to the palace.

"This... is it? Are you sure this is the place, my dear?"

"Oh yeah. Just you wait, you're in for the best night of your life. The palace could never compare."

Maxon smiled and shook his head, but he took my hand when I offered it all the same.

"Alright then. Let's see what this place has to offer."

****************

"Yes!" Maxon shouted, leaping up in the air before landing with a sheepish grin. "I got my first bullseye."

"I saw!" I laughed, beaming at Maxon's excitement. It had taken him the better part of an hour to relax, but now we were playing darts while eating terrible pizza and sipping local beers, like any other normal  couple from my city might. It had been magical.

"If I'm keeping  score correctly, that means I win unless you also get a bullseye, doesn't it?" he asked, fixing me with a brilliant smile. I picked up my dart and nodded.

"That's right. You better cross your fingers, Schreave."

Maxon laughed as I stepped up to the line, leveling my dart at the board. I'd done this so many times before, it was like second nature, even though I  hadn't played a lot of darts at the palace. I drew back, then followed  through and let the dart fly. It smacked into the board just slightly to the left of the center bullseye.

"Oh my- did I just win?" asked Maxon, a slightly delirious joy in his voice. I beamed as I turned around to face him.

"Yeah. I guess you did."

Maxon laughed in disbelief, then moved forward to wrap me tightly in his arms. He picked me up off my feet and spun me around, and I smiled. I hadn't missed a game-winning shot like that in years, but I wanted to see how happy Maxon would be if he won. I'd made the right decision.

"Does this mean I'm the darts champion now?" asked Maxon, a teasing quirk to his mouth as he set me down. "Since I beat you?"

I shook my head, still smiling as I went to retrieve the darts in the board.

"You've  gotta do more than beat me once with beginner's luck to take the title of champion," I said. "Put a dart board in the palace and we can really see what's what."

Maxon grinned. "You have a deal, my dear. Prepare to lose again."

I chuckled. Maxon's words didn't have any heat behind them, and it made my heart soar to see him so happy and carefree. I wished I could give that to him all the time, but I'd settle for tonight and look for opportunities in the future.

Unfortunately, by the end of that game of darts, we had to head back to the hotel or risk being caught  sneaking out. We took our glasses up and dropped them off at the bar, then I settled our tab. Maxon and I walked out of the place together arm in arm, this time no different than all the other regular strangers milling around on the street.

"Thank you for bringing me here tonight," he said as we walked, the cool night air perfect and refreshing. "I don't often get the opportunity to be among the citizens of Illea. That in itself is a treat, but getting to do it with you is the best thing I could imagine."

"I'm always happy to spend time with you, Maxon. Thank you for taking the risk and sneaking out with me."

"I'll sneak away with you every time I can get away with it, and maybe even a few more times than that."

"Well, good. But let's try to make this one of the not-getting-caught times, okay?"

"Of course."

Thankfully,  we made it back onto the balcony outside Maxon's room without issue. His room was dark, the door still closed, meaning none of the palace staff were any the wiser about where we'd gone. Maxon hopped back through the window, and I smiled before turning to go back to my own room, but he caught my hand and pulled me back.

"I just wanted to  say... I really enjoyed myself tonight. I find that I enjoy most times that I spend with you. I... I love you."

I beamed. "I love you too, Maxon. I love every minute we spend together, even when it's many, many minutes of letting the press take pictures of us. You even make royal procedure meetings enjoyable just by being in the room next to me."

Maxon laughed. He glanced down at my lips, then back up at me, a tentative smile on his face.

"Can I kiss you?"

I grinned. "Absolutely."

I leaned forward, and Maxon and I shared a long, sweet kiss through the window. After a moment, we pulled apart, both of us positively glowing. I took a half-step back, never taking my eyes off Maxon.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" I said. He grinned, leaning out the window even further.

"Yes you will."

"Okay. Good. Then goodnight."

"Goodnight, my dear."

I floated back to my room, thankfully also without getting caught, and fell asleep with a smile on my face. I couldn't wait to experience a thousand more places with Maxon, and play a thousand more darts matches together. Anything the future brought, as long as it was with him.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

The Selection Taglist: @valkyriepirate

[theselection-rp]

vagas para realeza convidada e funcionarios abertas

dez lindas donzelas disputarão pela mão do homem mais cobiçado do país. só resta saber se as moças estão atrás dele ou da coroa dele, afinal o homem é o futuro rei de illea. quem será que vai ganhar essa disputa?

Nossa central será apenas para postar algumas regrinhas básicas, fichas e eventos. Não será muito elaborada ou extremamente organizada com páginas e coisas do tipo que vocês estão acostumados. A intenção é o desenvolvimento dos personagens e jogo.

Também teremos um grupinho no telegram onde facilitará a comunicação entre os players e inclusive montaremos um grupinho/canal por lá para que hajam interações rápidas.

Ficou com dúvida chama no chat, não precisa ficar com vergonha, ninguém aqui morde haha caso tenha interesse ou manda seu ig do telegram por chat para te adicionarmos no nosso grupinho.

[sangucazul]

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 ﹕@illcasprince .

• campo de guerra de bola de neve.

talvez fosse a energia caótica do lugar, quando hirose viu já estava fazendo bolas de neve e tacando nos outros o problema foi quando uma delas atingiu um príncipe de illea, as bochechas da princesa coraram enquanto tinha uma crise de riso de nervoso sem saber como o outro reagiria, esperava que ele não ficasse bravo.

[burcuxzdemir]

oi tag, passando pra perguntar se haveriam interessados em um rp de seleção. faz tempo que não vejo um por aqui e estou com saudade da temática. pensei em algo bastante inspirado, mas não necessariamente na mesma ambientação (país Illea) dos livros

[rainhadofrozen]

⸻ ︰ ⧽ 𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀 ; 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 .

⸻ ︰ ⧽ sebastian ; @illcasprince !

com sua habitual atenção meticulosa aos detalhes, a rainha islandesa observava com olhos perspicazes os esplêndidos locais  onde o evento se desenrolava. ao seu lado, o futuro soberano de illea, ela dirigiu-se a ele com um tom sereno, porém, matizado pela cautela. "príncipe sebastian! sua indumentária de fato é deveras eficiente, quase não o reconheci. o que está achando de tudo? magnífico, não acha? nunca outrora participei de um evento tão singular, os franceses sempre surpreendem; entretanto, eis que me chegam aos ouvidos rumores de uma possível interrupção de energia mais tarde.” de fato, estava preocupada com tal possibilidade. “receio estar um pouco ansiosa, o que você acha?” a monarca estava determinada a garantir que iria aproveitar o evento sem contratempos, mesmo diante das incertezas que um suposto apagão poderia trazer.