Introduction
Wyatt woke from his slumber to the giggles of his niece, Sophia, grinning and shaking him. When he turned his head to meet her eyes, she erupted into a fit of laughter and had to look away. "Oh Uncle Wyatt, your face is too funny," she boldly shared, pointing to his cheek. Half a sleep and still a bit groggy, he raised his hand to his face and felt a deep imprint carved into his skin. Without a mirror he couldn't make out exactly what the image was, but judging by the pillow his face was resting against, he had a strong inkling that it was a horse.
"Well now you know what I'd look like if I got a tattoo," Wyatt replied, patting the six year old on top of her head.
"Oh Uncle Wyatt," she pouted, fixing her disheveled hair back into its original form. "Mama made me sit for thirty minutes to get my hair done this morning," she complained, recalling the awfully boring time she'd spent having it done. Sophia always thought the most horrible part of her day was when she had to spend valuable playtime getting dressed and prepped in the morning. That, and also when her mother told her she had to go to sleep before anyone else in the palace during the evening.
Wyatt smiled at his niece's impatience and reassured her that she'd look fine no matter what state her hair was in. Of course she didn't believe him, but he tried making the effort nonetheless.
"Now Sophia, what brings you here so early in the morning?" Wyatt asked, knowing full well that she wasn't supposed to be in the Northern wing of the palace. Her mother always threw a fit when she did. Of course Wyatt understood why, but he still liked to see his niece every once in a while.
Sophia climbed onto his bed and plopped down before him. Curling her tiny index finger, she urged her uncle to lower his ear for her to whisper in. Complying, he leaned in and listened carefully to whatever secret she felt was so important. It was a big thing for her to come to her uncle's quarters and risk facing her mother's wrath, but Sophia felt that news of his upcoming Selection was well worth it.
"Mama has set the date," she said giddily, trying hard not to screech in his ear despite all her excitement.
"Set the date for what?" Wyatt teased. He could see the anticipation in his niece's eyes and couldn't help but joke around a little bit.
"For your Selection of course!" she squealed, leaping off the bed.
Wyatt smiled halfheartedly, hoping that Sophia's news was something other than that. Still, he made himself seem thrilled so as not to damper the young girl's cheerfulness. "Oh, my Selection. I almost forgot about that," he said, getting out of bed.
"Yep! Aren't you excited?" Sophia asked. Wyatt hesitated but nodded after seeing her chocolate eyes grow wide with wonder. He could only guess that she was imagining extravagant balls, lavish gowns, and pretty much everything he knew he was going to dread about his Selection. "Mama said that you're going to finally get married and then have lots of babies for me to play with!"
Wyatt chuckled momentarily at her innocence, but quickly frowned upon remembering what his Selection would mean for his cute little niece. With every expression of anticipation on Sophia's face, Wyatt felt guiltier and guiltier. How could he explain to her that his marriage would only tear their family further and further apart? To her the Selection meant parties and everything she dreamt about; but for him it meant strengthening his position while simultaneously eroding away her status as the next heir to the throne. Ever since his older brother had slipped into a coma five years ago with Sophia as his only heir, the council had been pressuring Wyatt to take the throne. With Sophia too young and her mother without any experience in court, it only made sense that the King's only sibling ascended the throne in his brother's stead. Wyatt disagreed for many reasons and had tried holding off the Selection as long as possible, but it seemed as if the council had finally pushed through.
Striding over to the window, Wyatt swept open the drapes in one fell swoop. The room was instantly illuminated. Both of them quickly sheltered their eyes from the bright morning sunlight flooding through the window. "I am excited," Wyatt told Sophia softly, "but matters of my heart are just that, my own."
Sophia frowned and crossed her arms in frustration. "But shouldn't I at least have some say?"
Wyatt cocked an eyebrow. "And why is that?"
"Because that lady is going to become my aunt! That makes your Selection my business," she suggested firmly, widening her stance as if that made her argument stronger.
Wyatt didn't respond immediately. Instead, he glanced out the window and into the royal gardens that his bedroom overlooked. They were beautiful and lush, full of thick rosebushes and carefully sculptured hedges. Large trees with imposing presences shaded the pond in the corner and the walking paths that wound wildly through the yard, dividing the perfectly trimmed grass into sections. Beds of flowers grew in almost every corner, dotting the landscape with bursts of bright colors. "Tell me, Sophia, what is your favorite part about being the Crown princess?" Wyatt asked haphazardly.
Sophia scrunched her nose. "What do you mean?" she wondered, confused as to why her uncle was asking such a strange question.
Wyatt didn't turn, his gaze kept firmly on the gardens below. "What do you want to do when you become the ruler of our country?" he said, trying to clarify what he was asking.
"That's easy," Sophia grinned. "I want to eat as much candy as I possibly can!"
Wyatt couldn't stop himself from laughing. It wasn't what he was looking for, but it did sort of answer what he was asking. "Good response," he replied, lifting the little girl high into the air and throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of flour. "Now, lets go downstairs and get some breakfast!"
xXxXx
There you have it! That is the introduction explaining a little bit about Prince Wyatt and the current dynamic within the royal family. Hopefully it will give you guys a little idea of my writing style and inspire you to submit a character.
I've written a few SYOC stories and have definitely come to realize a lot about my writing and what I need to do in order to complete them. Knowing my limits, I will only be accepting 5 girls. Feel free to submit as many as you want, but I am only going to take 5 Selection participants. The reason I do this is because I don't want to stretch myself too thin. I find it hard to stay focused and update regularly when I have to juggle so many characters. When I do, the quality of the chapters goes way down, I get stuck in the introductory phase, lose interest, and stop updating. So to avoid that, I have set the limit of girls at 5.
Other things to note are that Wyatt lives in a completely different kingdom than Maxon does and therefore is not related at all to him. This means that his Selection will run differently. Since the story is set in another kingdom, I will pick the provinces.
Anyway, please fill out the form on my profile to participate. I can't wait to see all your awesome characters!
I do have a couple of rules though, so please read them carefully before submitting an OC.
1 – Please submit your OCs through a PM. I do realize that guests will want to send in some OCs as well, but I find it way easier to contact people with questions when I can PM them. Also, please write in the title of your PM: OC form – your character's full name.
2 – No Mary Sues. Nobody in the world is perfect, meaning that everyone has their imperfections whether it be personality or appearance-wise. Please be mindful of this and try to create some dynamic but realistic characters. This will make my writing and this story a whole lot my interesting if the characters are diverse. Also, try to be consistent in the sense that someone can't be shy but then super talkative.
3 – Be detailed. Nothing turns me off submissions more than plain and generic characters.
4 – Review. I'm pretty sure all authors love hearing from their readers. So feel free to PM me with ideas for your character or any other things that may pop into your mind. I check my account every day and will definitely get back to you within a day or two. Also, long reviews always sway me into writing more about a character. So if you are dedicated and put in the time to leave me solid reviews, I will return the favor and write long parts for your characters. If there isn't a lot of interest, I may swap out some girls for others from people who are more dedicated.
That's it! Have fun and create lots!