Screams fill the stone hallway as waves slam against the rocks below. The wind howls.

"Almost there now, almost there."

In a bedroom, a gaunt woman thrashes about, her swollen belly heaving with the effort. Two maids rush around the room, one carrying towels and water while the other struggles to close the windows battered by the storm.

"What a time to bring a little one into the world", the older maid muses, now kneeling by the woman's side and gently stroking her matted hair. The man at the bedside grasps his wife's hand, a taught smile on his face.

Then, with one final shriek of the wind and the waves, the baby is delivered. Relief floods the room and the woman collapses in exhaustion, curling into the dampened bedsheets.

She gasps, "My baby, how is he?"

The old maid chuckles as she cradles the infant, "She is just fi..."

Her voice fades away, and the sudden look of confusion on her face quickly turns to horror.

"What is it? What's wrong with it?" The man asks as he rises to his feet.

The room is heavy with silence, as even the storm holds its breath. No one dares move.

After what seems like an eternity, the maid slowly looks up, fear coating her gaze, "She's marked."

The ocean roars to life.