Meeting With The Queen

  Lucell and Mia made their way through the forest. It was completely different from Mia's first time though. Buildings had been erected and the demons all looked like normal people. They were all humanoid with red, blue, or green skin. Each of them also had a unique pair of horns on their head. From just glancing it did not appear as if females were treated any less than the males or vice versa. "So Lucell?" Mia asked.

   "Yes, Sir Knight?" Lucell responded, still not quite sure to call what the knight.

   "Oh, you can just call me Mia and treat me as a girl now. It is what the Goddess decided was my punishment, so I gladly accept it." Mia smiled. "I was just wondering, why do you all look so different from before?"

   "Oh that." Lucell was relieved at the simplicity of the question. "We demons have two forms, one for everyday life and one of battle. In our battle form we grow in size and become quite fearsome beasts, but our regular form is what you see here. Of course, our battle form is just what male demons have. Our females can change their form to be more human, reducing their height and changing their skin color. We use our males for the bulk of the fighting, and our females gather intelligence, make strategies, and assassinate high value targets."

 "Oh, that's neat!" Mia was amazed. "So, you are all shapeshifters then!"

  Lucell sighed. "To put it bluntly yes, it is a side effect of the Goddess playing with our appearance so much."

  "So, does that mean I can shape shift too?" Mia asked. "You know since the Goddess changed my appearance."

   "Doubtful." Lucell responded. "Whereas the Goddess only spent weeks on you, she spent years on us demons. I doubt you would have the same effect in just a few weeks." There was a pause for a time, until Lucell spoke again. "When we reach the Queen make sure you show your respect. She is beloved by our people and deserves to be treated respectfully. Make Sure you kneel and lower your head. Do not talk unless you are spoken to and most importantly do not say anything that will offend her. The Goddess does not wish us to harm you, but that does not mean we have to treat you well. That will be up to the Queen.

   "Yes sir, I understand." Mia agreed.

  Lucell walking, with a naked human female in tow, did not escape the notice of the entire village as they walked through. They whispered among themselves about the two of them, but for the most part tried not to stare. They had some seen the Goddess do crazy things in the past and they figured this was just something else that she must have done.

   Upon arriving in the Queen's court Lucell immediately knelt and Mia followed suit. "Your grace I have brought you a visitor, a guest from the Goddess."

   The Queen eyed Mia studying her behavior, to see if there were any signs of disrespect. When the Queen saw none, she was pleased. "I know of this Lucell. Have you forgot that I have the magic eye and I watch the Goddess's every move?" The Queen continued. "I have seen our visitor since they first met the Goddess. I know all about who this is, as well as what the Goddess has commanded. I also saw her apologize to you in front of the forest. Tell me Miss Mia do you truly regret what you have done to our people?"

   Mia did not raise her head when she answered. "I deeply regret everything I did. I thought I was serving the Goddess and my blind zeal had me attack her people as well as the Goddess herself. I can never atone for the lives I took from you nor for my actions against the Goddess. I would have ended my life already, but the Goddess wishes for me to live. I beg for your forgiveness."

   "Well she seems sorry to me!" The Queen smiled as she accepted Mia's apology. "Now onto more pressing matters. Lucell?"

   "Yes, your grace?" Lucell raised his head to answer the Queen.

   "Why did you think it was a good idea to parade this young lady through our village butt naked?" The Queen asked.

   "I am sorry, your Grace, I thought it most important to bring her straight to you." Lucell answered.

   "She may be human, but she is still a woman, and women should not be paraded around naked. What were you thinking?! She is even a guest of the Goddess herself and you don't even offer her clothing?!" The Queen began to elevate her voice.

   "Well, your Grace, the Goddess herself was also naked so I thought it didn't matter as much." Lucell tried to find a justification for his actions.

   "Tell me young Mia, do human females enjoy putting their bodies on display for the world to see?" The Queen directed her attention to Mia.

   "No, your Grace, I do not enjoy being on display and would very much like to cover myself if you would allow it." Mia answered. She did not really feel shame due to her upbringing and the fact she used to be a man. However even she knew that it was not good to walk around naked.

  "Well there you have it Lucell." The Queen turned back to her general. "You have done this lady a great disservice and must make it up to her." The Queen pauses for just a moment. "Strip and give her your clothes!"

   "But your Grace!" Lucell started. "I am nearly two feet taller than her, there is no chance my clothing will fit her."

   "Do not argue with me Lucell." The Queen snapped back. "I said strip so strip!"

   With a Sigh Lucell got to his feet and began to remove his shirt. "As you wish my Queen." His chest was exposed showing his well-defined muscles, he was even more buff then Mia when she was a man. Seeing him made her miss her muscles even more and caused her to stare at him longingly. Lucell continued to strip until he was about to remove his undergarments.

   "That's enough Lucell." The Queen stopped him. An audible "aww" could be heard from the female demons of the court. "I just wanted you to experience the same shame you placed on poor Mia. Bring out the clothes we had prepared for Mia." Just then an attendant came out holding a set of clothing for Mia. "You may dress here if you like or we can provide you with a private room." The Queen told Mia.

   "I will just dress here if that's alright, I have been naked a bit too long already." With that Mia took the clothing and started putting it on. She was surprised that the clothing fit perfectly. "Thank you for the clothing your Grace." Mia said with a bow. She felt something in her pockets. "Your grace there's something in my pockets."

   "Oh yes those are extra, padding, for your current issue." The queen tried to state it as in code as she could.

   "Oh, for my cycle thing, what did the Goddess call it the menstrual cycle?" Mia questioned.

  With that the Queen planted her face into her palm. "I should have known you would have no shame about it. After all you did used to be a man." The Queen continued. "Now that you are dressed, we can discuss what you have learned so far. How you were a criminal for simply refusing to be raped. How your human civilization is based around the subjection of women and how your church is sending heroes to attack the Goddess."

   "Yes, you really did see everything." Mia told the Queen.

  "Indeed, I did." The Queen answered back. "There is more that you don't know as well. You were the twenty second hero the church created. When they found you, your parents did not want to part with you, so the Church killed your parents and took you for themselves. The weapon that they said was a legendary holy sword is actually a weapon of their make. They combine a blade with the souls of female prisoners to make a weapon."

   Mia's face turned pale, everything the Queen was telling her was one blow after the other to everything she knew. "Why did they do all this?" Mia questioned. "What purpose does all that serve?" Mia thought for a second. "Were they the ones who cursed me as well?!"

  "Yes." The Queen responded. "They were just using you as a weapon and did not care they were cutting your life short. As to why, that is easy. What do weak men who hide in the dark always want? More power. They plan on making an army of heroes one day and controlling not only the Kingdom, but the whole world." The Queen paused for a moment to let everything sink in. "So, tell me Miss Mia, what are you going to do about it?"

   Mia did not hesitate for a second. "I will stop them. I have to."