The palace was silent. Moonlight spilled across the marble floors, reflecting off gilded walls and polished silver. The corridors were empty, except for the soft echo of the prince's footsteps. Prince Aurelian stood on the balcony of the highest tower, wrapped in a dark cloak, his gaze fixed on the city below. Lanterns glimmered like scattered stars, the scent of night-blooming jasmine drifting from the gardens.
He shivered, though not from cold.
Nights had become both enchanting and terrifying, for each night brought the same mysterious ache a heartbeat, a warmth in his chest, a longing he could not name. And by morning, it would vanish, leaving only emptiness.
Midnight approached.
Aurelian' s hand brushed against the silver bracelet on his wrist.
Remember.
The word glimmered faintly, as if alive. He had tried for centuries to remember, tried to grasp the faces, the voices, the moments that haunted him, but every sunrise stole them away.
The palace clock began to chime. One, two, three.
By the twelfth chime, the warmth spread through him like molten gold. His chest tightened. Somewhere in the quiet streets, a soft laugh echoed. It was clear and melodic, cutting through the night like a bell.
He turned instinctively.
There she was.
A girl beneath a lantern, silver hair catching the light like strands of moonlight. Her eyes lifted to the palace, sharp, wary, yet touched with sorrow. And though he did not know her, his heart recognized her.
"Not again" he whispered, clutching the railing.
The girl noticed him, her own pulse racing. She had seen him every night, felt the invisible bond tugging at her heart. But each morning he forgot. Tonight, he would fall for her again, and tomorrow he would wake with nothing but emptiness.
She raised her hand, hesitantly, greeting him without words.
Aurelian' s chest ached. "Who are you?" he asked softly.
No answer came, only the whisper of the wind. He leaned closer, captivated by her presence, the glow of the lantern around her. His heart ached with recognition he could not explain, longing he could not define.
The city around her seemed to pause cats darting across cobblestones, carriages rattling along the streets, yet she remained, a beacon in the night.
As the clock struck midnight, Aurelian felt the warmth blossom into something unbearable, filling his chest with longing, desire, and something he had no words for.
"I feel like I know you," he murmured, voice trembling. "But I don't. Why?"
Her eyes shimmered in the moonlight, tears threatening to fall. "Because in some way, you always have. And in some way you always will," she whispered.
His hand hovered over the balcony railing. His chest burned. "I have to know you."
A faint smile touched her lips. "And you will. Tonight and tomorrow. You will forget. But it does not matter. Not really. Not when the heart remembers what the mind cannot."
The wind carried her scent jasmine and winter frost. He breathed it in, captivated, desperate to remember something he could not.
Despite knowing it would end with dawn, he would love her tonight.
Because under the silver moonlight, he was hers.
And when the sun rise. He would forget.