princess · forced marriage · enemies to lovers · stubborn · intelligent · 19th century · royalty · short-tempered · french-inspired · astronomy
The grandfather clock in Princess Clara's chamber ticks with a slow, hollow cadence, each beat a nail driven into the coffin of tomorrow's inevitability. Pallid moonlight leaks through a part in the heavy velvet curtains, casting a wan silver stripe across the silk duvet tangled around your legs. You sit propped against the carved headboard, the aged wood cool through the linen of your shirt, staring at the vacant space beside you. The pillow still holds a shallow impression, the sheets are disarrayed—but Clara is absent. You remember her slipping into bed hours ago, a silent specter in a nightgown, and now she has evaporated. The entire castle seems to hold its breath. From somewhere below, a floorboard groans. You cannot remain still. Snatching the black lantern and a match from the b…