Princess Luka went for a walk that morning.

She liked the morning air, and it was a good time to collect her thoughts while the rest of the castle was still too busy preparing for the day for anyone to fuss over her.

This particular princess wore unconventional clothing – pants, a man's dress shirt, a tight vest that was some nod towards her womanly figure, and boots. Even her long, pink hair was tied back into a functional bun. She had been expressly forbidden to cut it. Etiquette teachers always complained about her mode of dress, and her parents often pleaded with her to wear something feminine. She replied to them that if femininity meant not being able to breathe or move she would take no part in it.

Not that she was always the rebellious sort. No, at times she caved in to her parents and wore gowns and the like. It was mostly for balls and formal dinners, but it at the very least gave her parents some hope for their daughter. For this walk, however, she would wear clothing that suited the activity.

As she climbed over the rocks which surrounded her favorite beach, Luka looked pensive. She had climbed over the rocks so many times that it was by habit now, and she didn't need to watch were she was going to know what spots to avoid. Now her mind could be occupied with other things.

For the past few days she'd been thinking a few things over. Most of all, she'd been thinking about the storm that had so suddenly struck the wedding ship. The sailors hadn't been expecting any such storm. The sky had been quite clear that day. No signs had been there to indicate that such a tempest would come.

So many people had died that night. Thankfully, her parents had stayed on land. But the friend whose wedding it had been was lost forever to the sea. What was supposed to be the best night of her life, turned out to be the last. Luka thought bitterly. For a while it had seemed as though they could have escaped on the boats. Once the ship had struck the rocks, though, there hadn't been a chance for them.

But she had survived.

That was the mystery. Not that she wasn't grateful for being alive, but it was hard to believe that it was possible.

She always reviewed the night in her head when she reached this point in her thoughts. The festivities had been getting into full swing when the storm had hit. Waves had crashed on their tiny ship from all sides, and she had tried to evacuate people into boats. Just as the captain insisted that she herself get in one of the smaller vessels, the waves had somehow managed to throw them into the rocks. Even now, the crack rang in her ears like a death knell.

Luka remembered the ship sinking deep into the cold waters. She remembered clinging to a piece of the ship as it steadily got harder to hold. The dress she had worn for the occasion had dragged her down. She remembered sinking and then only vague impressions of the world.

For a few moments, her thoughts had been aflutter. The water closed around her oppressively, like a smothering cover. Steadily, though, things became hazier. Arms tightened around her, and in powerful stoke, they pulled her up to the surface. At that point she'd passed out.

Her next clearest memory was lying on the very beach she was headed to now. Coughing violently, but not quite awake enough to know quite what was going on. Something caressing her face so lightly it was like a summer breeze. And then a song. A song that was so beautiful and haunting that she never could have forgotten it.

The language was unfamiliar. But there was such deep meaning there that she could never forget it. It was the same song that she had heard sung to her on the beach a few days earlier. As she began to stir, she heard a splash.

Putting two and two together, she knew that her rescuer was a male. Only a man could have a voice of that tonality. The other things she knew was this man came and went by the sea. Luka was infuriated that should figure out how. You don't just swim away after you save a princess.

Mysterious as her rescuer was, she was deeply grateful to whoever it was. She wanted a chance to, at the very least, meet a man who was heroic enough to dive into stormy waters to pull her to safety.

Her thoughts concluded as she pushed herself over the last rock. The salty air stuck her face, and she grinned. The briny air was lovely, even if she would taste salt for hours afterward.

The woman looked out at the sea, and then down at the shore. She screamed, turned her gaze towards a rock, and began to blush a violent color of pink.

Calm down, Luka, she told herself, trying to control the heat flushing in her cheeks. There wouldn't be a naked man on your beach. That would be ridiculous. Slowly, she turned her head back to where she had seen him, and then redirected her gaze back to the rock. There was indeed a man on the beach. And he was most certainly as bare as a newborn baby.

Luka thought about what she was to do about the situation. Even though she knew it would be wrong to leave him here, she also knew that she couldn't bring herself to drag him back to the castle by herself with him completely exposed to the world.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly took off her vest, and tiptoed towards him. She was extremely careful to not look at any of his extremities, and the moment she was close enough, she tossed her vest around his nude manhood.

Why me? She asked this to the world silently, and knelt so that she could easily lean an ear towards his mouth. When a light break tickled the ear, she smiled, and straightened herself. He was breathing, that was a good sign. The woman noted that he smelled strongly of fish and ocean water, and the combination was not a particularly pleasing one. She inspected the rest of him quickly, and was glad that he was unharmed. Luka assumed that he had washed up from a wreck of some kind.

A lucky survivor, she thought, a lot like me. I wonder who he lost? She tilted her head, and looked at his face. This was a handsome man. His features were as pretty as many of the princes she had met. The most shocking thing about him was the vibrant purple of his long hair, which was covered in sand, much like the rest of him.

Her eyes trailed downward – if only for a few seconds – and she blushed furiously and looked back up at his face. That was much safer than anywhere else. Although her clothes didn't conform to the times, her manners certainly did. She was prude enough that seeing a man with his chest bared was a bit disorienting for her. This? Well, this took the cake.

She stood to go get some help. At least for now she knew he was okay, but he wouldn't remain so if she just left him lying on the beach.

Luka stumbled up the castle, and called for servants to go down to the beach and carry the naked man up to a nice room in the castle. It was the very least she could do, seeing as they knew nothing about him and he might be nobility. If not, someone who had survived something so traumatic deserved the best possible treatment.

Things were slow, and her parents asked her multiple times what a man with no clothing was doing on her beach. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment every time they asked. Honestly, what did they think she was doing? After explaining for the six or seventh time that she had indeed found him on the beach and nothing had been happening, they seemed satisfied.

Rolling her eyes, she watched the servants carry him up to the rooms. On their way out, she caught one of them and said, "Make sure there's a breakfast of some kind for him. The heartiest foods you can find. He'll need it, undoubtedly." The servant nodded, and scurried away.

Sighing, she glanced inside the room. Someone had had the forethought to give him clothing. The princess smiled. He looked peaceful. Feeling satisfied with the effort made for this man, she ducked out to find another servant who would tell her when he was awake.