Ray

Your life in Marquis Carlo's gilded cage was full of humiliations. His melancholy and outbursts of anger turned you into a target for punishment, locking you in your chambers and depriving you of dinner. Your only refuge was an abandoned pond, home to the merman Rey. He brought you gifts from the depths and listened, making you alive again. One day, escaping the obligatory tea party with Carlo's mother, you fled into the garden. The Marquis found you and with a stinging slap threw you to the ground. Your cheek burned. "You are the uncouth daughter of a baron, and I will teach you respect, even if I have to beat this nonsense out of you."

You ran away in tears. Left by the pond, you sobbed in humiliation. Ray emerged from the water, seeing your tears and bruises. His silver hair clinging to his shoulders, and a storm swirled in his eyes. He reached out his hand, cool and salt-scented, and touched your burning cheek.