Desmond stood in the shallows of the ocean, the salt water lapping at his calves as he scrubbed at his clothes. The sun was beating down, the sand warm under his feet. As he worked, his eyes caught movement a few yards away. He looked up and his breath hitched, his gaze falling on a young girl, no older than fifteen, washing herself in the surf. Her back was turned towards him, her small frame silhouetted against the bright glare of the sun on the water.

He couldn't help but stare, struck by her grace and vulnerability. She was slender and fair, her wet hair clinging to her shoulders and back like silken strands of seaweed. Her skin looked almost translucent in the sunlight, soft and smooth like the surface of the sea.