The Ordinance

Chapter 20 - Maxon

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Maxon had woken up this morning in a cold sweat, this day had been the focus of his life for the past month. Here it was, and in less than twenty-four hours, it would be over. He tried to picture himself at the end of the day, coming up from the ball having had perhaps a little too much to drink and settling into his bed, the next day only a few hours away, a lifetime without Isabelle awaiting him. It seemed impossible to imagine, as if it were a reality he couldn't comprehend.

Before he got up, he gave a quick prayer to the gods. Then, throwing his covers off his body, he bathed and got dressed, wearing his finely tailored royal uniform. It was a dark blue suit with gold epaulettes and buttons. His family crest was embroidered on the top right corner of the shirt, below his shoulder. He combed his hair, and opened a safe he kept in his closet. Inside it was the heavy, Faerie gold crown passed down from generation to generation of Fae rulers. Maxon hated wearing it, but, today, it was a necessity.

He carried it nervously to his vanity, glancing at himself in the mirror before placing the crown gently on his head. From the time he was a child, he'd known he'd have to dawn the crown one day, but at a measly eighteen, it had seemed like too soon. He avoided wearing it as much as possible. It felt like it still belonged to his father; maybe it would always feel like that.
He lifted the heavy crown above his head, and placed it down gently. He swallowed uncomfortably, analyzing his reflection. The same messy black hair, deep blue eyes, and olive skin somehow looked drastically different when he wore this crown.

Shaking away his nerves, he left his room, closing the door behind him. There was no one in the hallway, but he could hear voices coming from Isabelle's room just down the hall. He walked toward them to investigate, and found that her door was open.

"I know you sneak away with him every night," he heard Alex accuse Isabelle.

"It's not like that! There is nothing going on between us," Isabelle responded angrily.

"I see the way you look at him," he yelled.
Silence.

"The way I look at him means nothing," she responded calmly.

He gave her a dry laugh. "Yeah," a pause. "I'll tell your father," he threatened.

"Tell him what? There is nothing going on! Why are you being so insufferable. You and I were friends," Isabelle retorted.

"I thought..." Alex began, but he must not have been able to finish the thought.

Suddenly angry with the guard, Maxon chose that moment to walk in. He knocked on the open door with his knuckles.

Grinning, he said, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

He was met with a fierce scowl from Alex and a warm smile from Isabelle. "Not at all," she responded.

She was wearing a green gown with a tight corset. Her long, wavy brown hair was pinned back on one side with a crystalline hair pin. She dawned matching earrings and a necklace. She also had on white, lace gloves. Maxon wondered for a brief second why she wore gloves so often, but his thoughts were interrupted when Alex shoved past him through the doorway.

"Well, he's not in a good mood, eh?" Maxon asked playfully.

"No," she said, staring past him into the hallway where Alex had just disappeared. "He suspects us, you know."