26 King of the Ocean Kingdom

 "Wait what?!" Mia shouted. "No, we are not here for that reason at all."

 The King leaned forward. "Oh, then why are you here? I am sorry for the confusion, I just assumed since that man was dressed so provocatively."

 "I am Mia, of the Kingdom of Alavast. I used to be the anointed hero of the church before I encountered the Goddess." Mia explained. "We came here hoping that you would support me."

 The King raises his head. "Support you?" He asked. "Doesn't your kingdom have a King already. I believe his name is Edward. Though according to our spies, he is nothing more than a bird in a cage. The church does everything in that kingdom."

 "My Lord?" Mia asked. "What is your opinion on the church?"

 "They are all a bunch of fools." The King quickly responded. "That's why I had them expelled from my Kingdom. We live free from the church's dark influence."

 "That is what I hope to do for my Kingdom." Mia answered back. "The church is currently in the grasp of the element of destruction and it is bent on the destruction of all living things. It means nothing if I conquer the kingdom and overthrow the church if the neighboring kingdoms do not support me. I do not want to trigger a bunch of senseless wars, that is why I have come to gather support."

   The king pondered a moment. "I was under the impression that the church's hero was a man." The King looked over Mia. "You don't seem very mannish to me. Quite the opposite in fact."

 "Yes, I used to be a man." Mia explained. "The Goddess saw fit to transform me into the form you see now. As punishment for thinking that she was a man."

 "Wait, why would you think the Goddess was a man?" The King questioned.

 "Well the church had led me to believe the demon lord of the forest was a man." Mia explained. "So, when I attacked whom I thought to be a servant of the demon lord. It was actually the Goddess. This is the punishment she chose for me and if it is the Goddess's will I will accept it gladly."

 "Amazing." The King was in awe. "So, are you completely female?"

 "Yes," Mia responded. "Seems like I can even get pregnant, according to the Goddess anyway."

 "Wow, that must have been surreal. Becoming a different gender just like that." The King continued on. "Back to the topic at hand. The church actually had you attack the Goddess that they claim to serve?"

 "Yes, it was not my proudest moment." Mia answered.

 "Then it is safe to say you have no love for the church." The King continued.

 "Correct, I intend on ending their dangerous reign." Mia responded. "They have already sent one army after me, it is just a matter of time before they send more."

 "An army? I know you used to be the hero, but one girl against an army of soldiers seems like it would be a bit one sided." The King questioned.

 "Right, under normal circumstances you would be correct. I am not normal, the Goddess played with my body quite a while turning me into a woman and it left me with quite the aptitude for magic." She explained. "I even have the blessing of the wind elemental." Mia holds out her hand and forms a tiny tornado in her hand.

 About this time Lucell began to change back into his natural color. "Um, Mia. Your very attractive companion seems to be changing color." The King pointed out.

 "Sorry for the deceit." Lucell spoke up. "I am General Lucell of the Demon Army. I attempted to hide my appearance so as to not cause any undo fear. However, this skill is one of our females so I am not very adept at it and could not maintain the appearance."

 "Oh wow." The King shouted. "I have never met a demon before."

 "You do not fear me?" Lucell asked. "That is not the response we demons normally receive."

 "Ah yes, well since we do not have the church here, we are not blinded by blind zeal." The King answered. "We think of you as just any other inhabitant of our world, there is no need for you to hide who you are. We are all open and accepting in this Kingdom." The King turned his attention back to Mia. "Now back to the issue. You seem to command a great deal of power if you could take out an army. I will give you my support on one condition."

 "What is it you need of me, my lord?" Mia asked.

 "You may have noticed that our citizens have sheltered themselves inside their homes." The King explained. "Commerce has stopped. Entertainment has stopped. Everyone has put their lives on hold."

 "We did notice that." Mia answered.

 "Well the reason for that is we are besieged by a water dragon." The King continued. "It attacks every ship that leaves the port and throws massive waves against our capital. We all hunker down because if you are swept away by the ocean you are never seen again. My husband is the leader of our navy, our strongest most capable warrior. Left a week ago to fight the beast with some of our bravest men and women."

 "That sounds like it didn't work." Mia answered.

 "Alas we have not heard back from them and the nobility have already declared them dead." The King responded. "But I know my husband is still alive, he would not die to such a minor thing as a dragon." The King wiped a tear that was forming in his eye. "The nobles have been trying for days to set me up with someone else trying to increase their own influence. That's why I thought you were here, but it seems like you have another purpose, one of hope."

 "Hope?" Mia asked.

 "Before I can entrust you to save an entire Kingdom, I ask that you save one man." The King pleaded. "I know my husband is still out there. I want you to go and find him. I am not asking you to slay the dragon or anything spectacular like that. I just want you to return my beloved to me." The King has visible tears in his eyes now. "Please, if you can rescue him, I will send my entire army with you when you retake Alavast. I will send an envoy to travel with you to the other kingdoms to help you gather support."

 Mia stood up. "I will find your husband." She answered back.

 "Mia you mustn't promise such things." Lucell spoke up.

 "No, Lucy, he believes this much in his husband, so I will believe in him as well." Mia snapped back. "Which way did they sail?"

 "Thank you, Mia!" The King rejoiced. "I will give you our finest vessel in which to rescue him and I will give the captain a map of their course." The King wiped his tears away and replaced them with a smile. "Please accept some armor from our armory as well. You can't very well fight in your current attire."

 "Thank you." Mia responded. "We will head to the armory at once and prepare to depart." Mia and Lucell then exited the throne room and made their way to the royal armory.

 "They're coming to save you Ben; I just know that they will make it in time." The King said while looking out the window towards the Ocean.

 Now fully dressed in armor Lucell and Mia made it aboard the ship that was to take them to the missing expedition. "Are you the captain?" Mia asked the man who looked like he was in charge.

 "Why yes I am." The captain responded. "I have heard everything from his majesty. Damn brave thing you are doing little lady. Even if you do have a demon by your side you are going up against a dragon."

 "Hopefully we won't have to fight the dragon." Mia answered.

 "It's a dragon miss. You are going to have to fight it, that is if you want to survive." The captain responded.