Minerva was stunned. After a moment of processing what she just heard she dropped to the floor in a respectful kneel. As a princess she hadn’t have had to do that often, but everyone kneeled for the gods, especially when they decided to descend in mortal form.

But apparently the Goddess of the Sea didn’t care much about that. “Oh, don’t worry about any of that when it is just us. Stand up girl, looking down on people all the time just hurts my neck.” Minerva was somewhat confused, but she got up. Captain Azarus’s attitude didn’t help either.

“Hey Lydia, do I need to be here while you take care of this or can I go? I’m needed on deck.” He asked the goddess casually. The goddess, equally casually, just waved him away. “Oh, go on, do your thing. I’ll talk with Minerva for a bit longer.” She said. The captain did a quick nod and turned to Minerva “You just get settled and dressed and in a while I will come get you for breakfast. You must be hungry. See you in a bit.” He said and then turned around and left.

The lack of… solemnity, left Minerva unsure on how to act. Was she really a goddess? According to the stories the captain should’ve already been turned into some sort of fish for his rudeness if that was the case. She decided that a question might be in order. “Excuse me, Captain Azarus said you were the Goddess of the Sea? Please pardon my impoliteness but I was always taught she was more…” Now how was she supposed to finish that sentence without horribly insulting a possible goddess?

Luckily she didn’t have to. The goddess smiled a mischievous smile and finished the sentence for her. “More terrifying?” She said with obvious mirth. “I can be terrifying, if you want.” She said, and the world seemed to melt.

One moment Minerva was having a conversation in a mildly rocking ship’s cabin and the next moment she was holding on for dear life onto the mast of a small raft being tossed around in a dark and rough sea. In front of her she could see a giant woman with waves for hair and lightning for eyes being supported above the sea on several horrifying sea monsters. She was holding a harpoon thicker than the raft Minerva was on and she was about to throw it in Minerva’s direction when the vision ended as suddenly as when it began.

“Do you want me to be terrifying?” The young woman asked Minerva. In sheer panic Minerva stuttered her response. “N-no Your Grace. This is fine. No problem at all.” The goddess smiled her mischievous smile again. “I thought so.” She said, but then she returned to a more sedate attitude. “Some clothes then. What kind were you thinking?” The goddess started pondering out loud whilst she started rummaging through a wardrobe that definitely wasn’t there before. It had appeared next to the shrine and was obviously made with higher quality materials and workmanship.

The goddess pulled out an incredibly overworked dress with frills, jewellery, tassels, the works… Also, she seemed to have found her grin again “Something befitting your station, Your Majesty? So you can lord it over Alex right and proper?” She asked.

Minerva instinctively rolled her eyes. She was in no position to start lording over anyone. Especially a captain that seemed to be heavily favoured by the Sea Goddess. “No thanks, just a few practical clothes will do Your Grace.” She said without thinking. Then a large part of her was shocked at her lack of reverence. The goddess and the captain’s attitude was rubbing off on her it seemed. Again, the goddess didn’t seem to mind. “Oh, just call me Lydia when in private. I really only keep up appearances in front of crowds. You better speak politely when I am goddessing properly though. The sea always has room for one more fish.” She said absentmindedly, that last part somewhat sternly. And then she nodded “Practical clothes, yes. Good choice. I knew I liked you.” Lydia rummaged through the wardrobe some more and the contents seemed to shift. Turning mostly to plain dresses and lady’s riding clothes.

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Having a casual conversation with a goddess and seeing nothing but magic and miracles ever since she woke up made Minerva burn with curiosity. She finally felt like it was safe to try and get some answers. After sorting through what she knew, the biggest question wasn’t even about the goddess, or why she led her onto this ship. It was the captain. A young captain seemingly alone on the biggest ship she had ever seen that had regular casual conversations with a goddess. She could think of only one explanation that made any sort of sense.

“Uhm, Your Gr… Lydia, Can I ask? Who is Captain Azarus exactly? You and him seem very well acquainted. Is he a god as well?” Minerva asked. The question seemed to amuse Lydia. “A god? Him? No, not yet. He’s just a boy I took an interest in. He’s trying to do something quite interesting. I help him every once in a while. It’s why I led you on to the ship. You are a present for him.” Lydia said casually.

At first Minerva’s mind was reeling with the implications of the captain ‘not yet’ being a god. But this was quickly pushed to the background of her mind when she was called a present. Rage filled her mind and she was about vent it at Lydia. Just in time she managed to stop herself. As casual as they had been speaking, few gods were known to be more fickle than the goddess of the sea. Mouthing off at her was very likely to be a terrible idea.

With some effort Minerva managed to calm herself. Lydia had obviously noticed. She nodded in approval with a dangerous glint in her eyes. Eventually Minerva hazarded another question. “A present? What am I to do? Wed him? Did you want a princess for your champion?” She asked, incapable of keeping all of the resentment out of her tone. She feared the worst but the goddess wasn’t in a smiting mood yet. She responded in a polite tone, but something in her expression still promised a dire fate if she was opposed. “Oh, that won’t be necessary. Just be yourself. That will be enough. In fact, get too close to him and I will probably kill you. He’s mine.” She said casually.

The casual death threat didn’t actually bother Minerva all that much. This was what her education had told her to expect from The Sea Goddess after all. It was almost comforting to know that the stories weren’t wrong. Almost. Having to deal with the goddess was still the most terrifying experience of her life, but it was one she was somewhat prepared for at least. While Minerva was calming herself, Lydia had apparently finished arranging the wardrobe to her liking.

“Alright, that should do it. You should be able to make it to the palace with these.” She said. Behind her Miranda could see that the wardrobe was now filled with simple clothes of muted colours. In fact, they looked downright worn, old, and unflattering. Not what Miranda would have expected from the clothes of a goddess. Not that she was about to complain, mind you. It wouldn’t be good for her health.

“Thank you Lydia” She said. Lydia waved the thanks away with mild disinterest. “It is the least of my responsibilities as a host. But from now on, you’ll be on your own. Good luck” She said. “So what exact-“ Miranda started to say, but Lydia had already left. She had disappeared leaving only the clothes and a cabin that smelled particularly strong of a sea’s breeze. “-ly do you want me to do?“ Miranda finished her sentence, mostly to herself at this point. She sighed. Whether from relief of having survived the encounter or from realizing that she was once again way in over her head even she didn’t know. She decided to just get dressed and see what the captain would say. Plus, breakfast started sounding more and more appealing.