Never Marry a Villain

Okay, so first, if anyone ever tells you that being a princess in the kingdom of Solaria is all sparkles and tiaras, they are lying through their teeth. It’s actually super stressful. My name is Princess Aurelia Starling (everyone calls me "Aury" though, except for my dad, King Gerald, who only calls me Princess Aurelia when he’s about to ruin my life, which happens basically every Tuesday). I have wavy silver hair that sparkles in the sunlight—which is apparently a sign of my ancient star-blessed lineage—and eyes that change color depending on my mood. Right now, they were a stormy violet because I was about to lose my absolute mind. "You're doing what?!" I shrieked, slamming my teacup down onto the mahogany table. Some of the Earl Grey spilled onto the lace tablecloth, but honestly, I didn't even care. My best friend, Lily (who is a total sunshine personality with blonde pigtails and a magical affinity for blooming daisies), gasped and clutched her wooden embroidery hoop. "Aurelia, please!" my father groaned, rubbing his temples. He looked super old today, mostly because the shadow army from the Dark Realm of Nox was literally sitting at our borders waiting to murder everyone. "It’s the only way to save the realm. The Dark Lord has agreed to a truce, but only on one condition." "Let me guess," I said, narrowing my stormy-violet eyes into slashes of pure rage. "He wants our gold? He wants the Sacred Sun Crystal? He wants my pet Pegasus, Sparky?" "No," King Gerald said, refusing to look me in the eye. "He wants a bride. He wants you." I stood up so fast my silk chair fell over with a loud THUD. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!" I screamed. "Do you know who he is?! That’s Malakor the Undying! The Shadow King! The Guy Who Wears Entirely Black Armor And Never Smiles! He literally burned down the Eastern Forest three years ago because someone made his coffee wrong! He's a MONSTER, dad!" "He's a Duke, actually," my father corrected meekly. "And his name is actually Lord Julian Vance. Malakor is just his war-title." "I don't care if his name is Fluffy the Bunny!" I stomped my foot, my diamond-encrusted heels clicking against the marble floor. "I am NOT marrying the villain of this story! I’m supposed to marry Prince Lysander of the Light Realm! We’re supposed to have a aesthetic golden wedding with doves and pastel pink roses!" "Lysander ran away to the Southern Isles last night, Aury," Lily whispered softly, looking at me with pity in her big blue eyes. "He said he was too young to die and left a note written on a napkin." I gasped. Lysander betrayed me?! But he had blonde hair and a jawline that could cut glass! How could he be a coward?! "So it's settled," my father said, standing up and dusting off his regal robes. "The carriage arrives tomorrow morning at dawn. You will pack your bags, go to the Shadow Citadel, and marry Lord Julian. If you don't, Nox will march across our borders and reduce Solaria to ash by Friday." I stood there, frozen, my heart pounding in my chest like a trapped bird. I was being forced to marry the most evil, terrifying, insanely gorgeous (not that I noticed) villain in the entire history of the world. Rule number one of surviving a fantasy novel: Never Marry a Villain. And I was about to break it.