TV Script-Writing Sample
FADE IN:
INT. CASTLE HALLWAY - DAY
Sunlight streams through stained-glass windows, casting jewel-toned light on the marble floor. The sound of raised voices echoes.
KING ALDRIC (O.S.)
Where is Ellis? He must be here for this discussion.
INT. THRONE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
KING ALDRIC (60s), broad-shouldered, commanding, stands before four of his sons.
JULIAN (O.S.)
It’s not as if the creature will select him, Father.
Is it really necessary—
KING ALDRIC
There are things in your souls—and in the future of our kingdom—
that only the creature will know. It is not for us to decide who it chooses.
LEYORA ARDEN (22) appears at the doorway. Her presence is striking: wild curls, piercing green eyes, a quiet strength.
QUEEN LEYA
Leyora, dear—fetch Ellis for us, will you?
Leyora nods silently. As she turns, her brothers eye her coldly.
INT. LIBRARY - MOMENTS LATER
Tall shelves. Dust motes float in shafts of light. The room is a sanctuary—quiet, sacred.
ELLIS (25), lanky and soft-featured, sits at a marble desk, surrounded by open books. He looks up as Leyora enters.
ELLIS
Looking for escape?
LEYORA
Aren’t we all?
(beat)
Father is looking for you. Seems an odd day to vanish—
what with your potential crowning and all.
Ellis closes his book.
ELLIS
I won’t be chosen. That much is clear.
LEYORA
I thought the creature chooses its own.
ELLIS
No one wants a stuffy reader for their king.
LEYORA
I would.
Ellis looks up, surprised.
LEYORA (CONT'D)
The only issue... is finding one.
Ellis cracks a small smile. He stands.
ELLIS
It’ll be Laeke. It’s always been Laeke. Too good. Too perfect.
LEYORA
He’s been primed for it. Groomed to be golden.
But he lacks a certain... softness.
ELLIS
A king shouldn’t be soft, Leyora.
LEYORA
And on that, my dear brother, we disagree.
She plucks the book from his hand.
LEYORA (CONT'D)
“On Fae and Fears”? A little broody, no?
ELLIS
And what of your midnight list?
(smirking)
“Natural Whisperings”—gone. Noticed the dust was undisturbed.
Seemed rather purposeful.
LEYORA
I just happened across it. Is that a crime now?
ELLIS
Peculiar, is all.
LEYORA
The only peculiar thing is you not being in the throne room.
(mock stern)
Perhaps you should concern yourself less with my
taste in lost magic and more with the matter at hand.
ELLIS
And what matter is that?
LEYORA
Your potential coronation.
They hold eye contact. A beat.
ELLIS
Fine. As you wish.
(smiling)
I’ll see you at the ceremony. You may offer
me condolences in wine and bramble.
LEYORA
Deal. Now go.
He turns to leave, pausing at the door.
LEYORA (CONT'D)
Good luck, Ellis.
(soft)
I love you.
He grips the door for a moment, back turned.
ELLIS
…I hope it’s Laeke.
He slips out.
INT. LIBRARY - CONTINUOUS
Leyora stands in the silence. The room feels suddenly cavernous.
LEYORA (V.O.)
Something shifted inside me. It wasn’t magic—
not exactly. But something was... awake.
INT. CASTLE HALLS - SERIES OF SHOTS - DAY
— Noble guests arrive.
— Guards stand rigid.
— Servants scurry.
— Gold and silk flow like water.
— Leyora walks through it all—unseen.
LEYORA (V.O.)
The kingdom was changing. My brothers—trained, poised—
stood on the edge of something final.
(beat)
And I—forgotten—felt a storm beneath my skin.
INT. LEYORA'S CHAMBERS - EVENING
Leyora stands at the window, the kingdom spread below. Storm clouds roll in, slow and theatrical.
She glances to a gown draped nearby—pastel green, delicate.
LEYORA (V.O.)
It whispered to me... that gown.
Soft as a lie.
She turns toward the mirror. Her reflection: cheeks flushed, curls unbrushed, eyes luminous.
LEYORA (V.O.)
I was the only princess of Ardenia.
(beat)
A canvas... still unpainted.
She walks slowly across the room, barefoot.
LEYORA (V.O.)
Tonight was busy. Loud with ceremony.
Quiet enough that no one would notice...
if I disappeared.
A knock.
The door creaks open.
SERVANT (O.S.)
Princess Leyora... it’s time.
Leyora turns, one last look at the mirror.
Her eyes harden with something not quite fear—resolve.
FADE TO BLACK.
