The silver crescent moon hung in the sky, casting its pale glow across the Eternal Kingdom, the kind of night that practically screams for a dramatic romance moment. Prince Alderon—yes, that’s right, we’re sticking with Alderon now, okay? No more of this Elric business—stood on the castle’s parapet, staring into the distance with a brooding expression.

Alderon (totally not Elric anymore) pressed his hand to the cold stone railing. Everything about him screamed angst, like a character who’s just one slow-motion rain scene away from starring in his own music video. His cape fluttered behind him in the night breeze, though it didn’t have quite the same effect as the dramatic balconies of previous chapters. Still, it was pretty decent cape action. 

His thoughts, however, weren’t on capes. He wasn’t thinking about his royal duties. He wasn’t even thinking about his brooding-prince problems. No, his thoughts were with her. The girl who had stirred something inside him, something he couldn’t shake.

Selene.

That was her name now. We’re calling her Selene. Forget Elara. 

Wait, should I be writing this down? Nah, we’ll be fine.

"Selene," he whispered, the name rolling off his tongue like a confession, like it had always been there, tucked away in the corners of his mind. He thought of her auburn hair catching the light, the way her eyes had met his, full of fire, full of… wait…

Elara.

Wait. No, no. Selene. He was thinking about Selene. Right? 

Ugh, names are so annoying. Why did I pick Elara in the first place? It’s fine. We’re moving forward. Selene it is.

He blinked, shaking his head. "No," he muttered under his breath. "It’s Selene." He had always known her as Selene, right? The girl from the village, the one he couldn’t get out of his mind.

Yes, Selene.

But the name Elara lingered in his thoughts, like a shadow, like a whisper of something he had forgotten—or tried to.

Alderon sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "I’m losing it," he muttered, glancing over his shoulder at the darkened halls behind him. 

And then, in that strange, unspoken way the universe works (or maybe it was just me, oops), a voice cut through his thoughts, soft but insistent. It was hers.

“Elric…”

Wait, what?! No. No, no, no. He isn’t Elric. This isn’t happening again.

Cut to Selene (Or… wait… Elara? Oh no, here we go.)

Meanwhile, in the village of Thistlebrook (we're still rolling with Thistlebrook, okay?), the moonlight filtered through the trees, casting long, shifting shadows over the cobblestone streets. Selene—or at least, she thought she was Selene—wandered through the quiet village, her thoughts buzzing like an old glitchy computer trying to load something it couldn’t quite process.

Her steps slowed as she reached the edge of the village pond, her reflection shimmering in the water. There she was—long auburn hair, sharp features, the same girl she’d always known. The girl who’d caught the attention of the prince. The prince who—

Elric.

She froze, staring at her reflection as her heart did a weird, uncomfortable flip. Her lips parted, the name sitting on the tip of her tongue like an old friend.

What? No, no, not Elric. Selene, sweetie, focus. His name is Alderon now. We are NOT doing this again. 

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Alderon. The name echoed through her, pulling her toward him like it had for weeks now, since that almost-moment in the market. He was the one her heart was drawn to. She knew that, right?

But that name… Elric… where had it come from? Why did it cling to her mind like a forgotten dream?

She sighed, clutching the hem of her cloak tightly. 

"What’s happening to me?" she muttered, her hand absently brushing her hair back from her face. "Why does it feel like I’ve lived this before?"

Her reflection shimmered, the moonlight catching the water in a strange way, and for a split second, she swore she saw a different face staring back at her—someone who wasn’t Selene at all. She gasped and stumbled back, heart racing.

Cut to Alderon (aka Prince Brooding-Over-Too-Many-Names)

Alderon paced the length of the parapet, his cape swirling dramatically, his boots clicking against the stone in the otherwise quiet night. His mind raced, trying to untangle the confusing thoughts that had started creeping in. This wasn’t normal, even for a brooding prince.

"Selene," he whispered again, but the name felt off this time, like a coat that didn’t quite fit.

Elara.

There it was again.

Alderon frowned, gripping the stone railing harder. The more he tried to focus on Selene—the girl from the village, the one he was supposed to care about—the more the name Elara slipped into his mind, uninvited, unwelcome, but persistent.

The memory of a different life, a different moment, tugged at him. He could see her face—Elara’s face—so vividly, as if she were standing in front of him now. And the strange thing was, it didn’t feel wrong. It felt… familiar.

The flicker of uncertainty in his mind grew, and with it came frustration. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way. He wasn’t supposed to be confused. He was the prince, the one in control, wasn’t he?

"Selene…" he muttered again under his breath, and for the first time, it felt right.

Okay, seriously, why is this so hard? It’s Selene, right? It’s Alderon and Selene. Let’s just stick with that. Bree, girl, focus.

Cut to Selene (Still Here, Sort of)

Selene stood at the edge of the pond, staring into her own reflection. Her heart pounded, her breath coming in shallow bursts as the confusion grew. She didn’t understand what was happening—why these names, these memories, were surfacing, like pieces of a puzzle that didn’t fit together. Her hair, her face, the girl staring back at her—they were hers. But then, why did it feel like she was looking at someone else entirely?

Elara. That was the name that had come to her, unbidden, as if it belonged to her just as much as Selene did. But how could that be? She’d never heard the name before. Had she? It felt distant, like something half-forgotten.

She knelt by the water, her fingers brushing against its surface, sending ripples through her reflection. In the moonlit pond, her image shimmered, and for a fleeting moment, she swore she saw someone else staring back at her. Someone who wasn’t Selene at all.

“Elara,” she whispered. There it was again. But it wasn’t just a name. It was more than that. It was a feeling. A pull.

"No," she said softly, shaking her head. "I’m Selene. I know who I am. I’m not—"

But even as she said it, doubt gnawed at her.

Cut to Alderon (What Even Is His Name?)

Alderon gripped the stone railing harder, trying to banish the confusion from his mind. He was the prince of the Eternal Kingdom. That much he knew. But why did it feel like he had lived this moment before? Or was it someone else’s life he was remembering?

“Selene…” he whispered again, testing the name on his tongue. And yet, with the same breath, “Elara…”

The two names danced in his mind, twisting together, pulling apart. Two women—no, one woman—no, two. He couldn’t tell anymore.

Was it possible to love two people at once, when they were the same person?

Cut to Selene:

Selene felt the pull, the strange divide within her. As if there were two of her, battling for space in the same body. One, a woman tied to her destiny with a prince named Alderon. The other, a girl named Elara, connected to someone else, someone who wasn’t Alderon at all.

But that didn’t make sense. Alderon had always been the prince, hadn’t he? He was the one her heart was drawn to. So why did the name Elric feel like it belonged to her, too?

Okay, okay. This is getting a little out of hand. It’s fine. Totally fine. We’re just dealing with a little identity crisis here. Happens to the best of us. They’ll figure it out eventually. Hopefully.

In the reflection of the moonlit pond, Elara stared back at Selene, eyes wide with the same confusion that filled her heart.

“Who are you?” Selene whispered, her voice shaking.

“I could ask you the same thing,” the reflection answered.

Wait, did I just make her reflection talk? Oh well, let’s run with it.

Cut to Alderon:

Alderon turned away from the parapet, his thoughts still swirling. He needed to get to the bottom of this, to understand why these two lives—his and the one of this other man, this Elric—felt so intertwined.

He had a sinking feeling that this was only the beginning, that the names he had tried to bury—Elric, Elara—weren’t done with him. Or with Selene.

Okay, maybe the name thing’s a little more complicated than I planned, but that’s fine. It’s not like it’s my fault, right? It was just a little creative flexibility—give the characters a bit of depth, a little mystery—but now they’re getting all confused, mixing up their names like a poorly written fanfic. This is fine. It’s totally fine.