Chapter 3

  A Boy Named Sal

  (One Year Later, Age 6)

  To say that time flew by would be an understatement.

  If anything, life seemed to trudge by at a glacial pace. Especially, with Sarina, my maid, pulling double duty with both my personal care, etiquette, and personal hygiene maintenance.

  “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what the new styles are right now,” Sarina fusses over me as she styles and fades my hair back for the hundredth time.

  “It’s fine, now let’s go before I am late,” I let out with a mild form of irritation filling my speech.

  Though given how little I actually talk, this speaks volumes.

  “Now come on, you are a gentleman and need to look the part,” my maid says. “Also, stop pulling out your shirt from your wait line, you will look like a girl with that.”

  There it is, once again being told I don’t look the part of being me.

  “I’m just going to pull it out once I get to classes, you know this right?” I offer her.

  “Please don’t, it will be clear that we don’t have a man at the house to help groom you and teach you manners,” Sarina pleads with me.

  Hearing her speak, I can all but hear the thinly veiled threat in there. Not from Sarina, but the one that Sarina is actually trying to protect me from.

  Her comment is that, if I don’t follow her easy guide, my mother might take it upon herself to higher a male nanny to teach me the proper ways to be a man in this backwards society. Meaning, that if I think it is bad now, I will only have myself to blame for how bad things get in the future.

  “Why is this world even like this? Why aren’t males and females equal?” I ask, still trying to figure this out.

  Deep sigh.

  Oh shit, I’ve done it, I’ve finally broken Sarina. Hearing my protest, she lets out a huge exhale and then collapses to her knees and even hunches her back a bit so that we are both eye to eye.

  Women are freakishly tall in this world. That or they hit a major growth spurt after awakening, which isn’t too hard to believe from what I’ve managed to gather. Apparently, my mother gained over a foot, while pregnant with me.

  Part of the effects of killing void creatures, part of the effects of having her magical powers awoken before coming over. Also, it is said that women’s maternal instincts to grow stronger fully manifest during prolonged conflict, while pregnant especially for the first time.

  This was why my mother’s growth had been so explosive. Partly due to how much she killed, how long she stayed in a combat zone while pregnant, and how linked she became to her powers. All of those caused her to hit a massive growth spurt and likely her last growth spike of her life, but now mother was a giant of a woman.

  Sarina had performed similarly, having slept with my biological sperm donor, but she never got pregnant. As such her growth rate while in combat was half of that of my mother’s.

  Meanwhile, I will likely grow until about eighteen, where my height is expected to stay for the rest of my life. Then after almost an eternity of staring into my eyes, she speaks.

  “Oh honey, it’s okay, the world isn’t fair,” she states as she pulls me in for a quick but deep hug. Then pushing me away she stares right into my eyes and continues speaking. “Right now, you will grow at the same rate as women. But then, women on the night of their crowning, will be able to grow again. Based on three factors, the powers we unlock after our first crowning, if we are pregnant, and how well we apply ourselves in hostile territories. These three things are what help us grow as women, and earn our place as protectors in society.”

  The only reason Sarina wasn’t a seven-foot-tall monster of a woman like my mother was because she likely missed those last six inches from not being pregnant herself.

  She was still freakishly tall, especially for my old world standing at around six foot ten inches, or eighty-two inches tall. Even in boots I was only six foot two inches tall in my past life, and that was considered tall.

  I also don’t quite know all the powers she unlocked, but I know that Lightning and Air are likely two of her skill sets. But both of those powers being unlocked helped Sarina prove her worth, grow to be an acceptable height to maintain being in the Andry guards that mother employed. But her lack of breeding success made it so she was relegated to me.

  Not the glamorous jobs of taking care of my two little sisters or even helping out as a personal bodyguard for mother herself. Just me. Which was why I could understand Sarina’s concern. Without me being on board, her position might be lost. At least, that is the impression that I get.

  “I get all of that,” I hiss. “I just don’t get how it got like this in the first place. How is it that men cannot unlock powers during these same processes.”

  With that Sarina pauses for a moment, looks up and then does that weird head bobble she does when she is about to tell me too much.

  “Well,” she begins, her eyes looking around, then apparently focusing on the brass doorknob behind me. Seeing the doorknob apparently fills her with the confidence she needs to continue.

  “Well have you heard of the doors and the keys?”

  Just hearing her ask such a question makes me realize this is likely going to be a bad analogy that will scar me for life, even in my second life.

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  “No,” I manage.

  “Well, think of crowning ceremonies like doors and keys. You need a key to open the door, but then once the door is open, the key is useless. But the doorknob on the other hand still has value, because it can open wide, and reveal things that would have remained hidden. There could be anything in that room from knowledge, to weapons, to food.” Sarina stumbles over that last one, apparently getting sidetracked by her normal hunger pains for the analogy she is clearly butchering.

  “Well, in this world boys are the keys. They are great, needed to help open every door. But then once that door is open, their use is done and they need to go off and find more doors to try to open. While the door can do anything at this point, hold a family, hold knowledge, provide shelter for the key and all of its little key friends.”

  Yeah, Sarina is terrible at analogies. Also, did she just state that my job in life will effectively be a person who goes around trying to open lady’s doorknobs?

  Thinking back to some of my more sexist co-workers, I could see how this would be a dream come true for them. A dream that could quickly turn into a nightmare based on negative feedback. I know my mother registered a negative report with my sperm donor for only siring a male offspring at first. Then I must ask about Sarina.

  “Did you give your key a bad review by not getting you pregnant on your first time?” I asked, trying to talk around the subject that I know Sarina will easily fall into, if I give her enough of a chance to out herself.

  Sigh.

  Sarina gives another deep exhale before nodding her head, “I did, though I have since learned that the issue lies with me. Fortunately, our bad reviews were not enough, as your sperm donor has had at least two more successful siring attempts with your sisters, so he is still alive.”

  Yep, again my fate was at the bottom, again.

  Produce either female offspring, while awakening a lot of powers in females so they can grow to be astronomically large or get put out to pasture. My mood is officially killed for the morning.

  “All right, we are getting late. If you have any more questions be sure to ask your teacher,” Sarina states after rising to her feet and then reaching down to grab my hand. I reach up, my tiny hand getting completely wrapped around her massively long and smooth fingers. With that we go out front while we wait for our driver to arrive.

  Even with the driver, Sarina will ride with me, to no doubt protect my modesty. Even though she is a female, having already gone through the crowning process once, she is considered safe. Almost like a girl going with an uncle from my planet.

  As we ride, Sarina gets more and more fidgety the closer we get to wherever we are going.

  Finally, I just look at her.

  She sees the stare and stops fidgeting for a moment, before her little ticks take over once more.

  “What is it?” I ask, finally at my end for her antics that make it look like she needs to pee.

  “Well,” she begins, and as she does, I instantly inhale, knowing that this can be one of many things. Though most likely it will be about ways I can be a better male. “Now that we are going to school, are you sure you don’t want to go by your real name? And instead, just want to be called Sal?”

  “I hate my name,” I respond honestly. I know I am acting like a child, but seriously my name is stupid, and I refuse to even acknowledge it as a name, let alone mine. I mean, I know mom was mad at me at the time for being a male, but that’s what she gets for burning down my planet?

  “I, I know. Lord knows, I know. But you have such a pretty masculine name,” she preens.

  “Yes, Sal,” I answer. It is not Salvator Nunez, but then again this is the closest I could get to a name that even sounded like one I was used to have.

  “But Sal is such a girls name, and you want to be pretty, don’t you?” Sarina presses.

  “I don’t care if I’m pretty.”

  “Of course you don’t,” Sarina rolls her eyes back as she takes in my comment. The more she talks, the more I can see the gears in her mind working, trying to come up with a new way to talk to me about this subject.

  “But Missala, is such a great an pretty masculine name,” Sarina pleads.

  “It sounds weak and pathetic.”

  Hearing that, Sarina pauses. I can see the gears in her mind turning as she tries to counter my comment, but she can’t.

  “Look, you’re a boy, and boys have pretty names.”

  Hearing her response I don’t even point out that her only defense was to fall back on apparently bad stereotypes. Instead, I just straighten up my posture, cross my arms over my chest, and just stare at her. She stares back for a second, but then quickly breaks eye contact.

  “Fine, but don’t come crying to me when the other girls in class pick on you.”

  “I’m not afraid of any little girls,” I spit back.

  We remain like that for the last little bit on our way to school. I continue to stare down Sarina, who has apparently chosen to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the car ride. After an awkward moment of silence, Sarena just clamped her mouth shut, straightened up her own posture, and then proceeded to break eye contact and look out the window. I won.

  Seeing that she has given up on this topic at least. Apparently, she was expecting some sort of hazing from my fellow classmates to be enough to make me fall in line in the future, I call it a win. With the victory in hand and me just staring down Sarina from the side, I too stop my staring and turn out the window to see the great outdoors. Or at least, I kind of expected to see the great outdoors.

  The manor and estate that mother’s mansion is on is immaculate and well maintained. With earth and life mages hired to help tend the fields and keep the estate looking pristine, it is easy to become complacent with well-maintained beauty. This is why what I saw next was so disconcerting.

  Everything was dirty and grimy.

  The roads were dirt covered, with apparently poor drainage systems in place. The buildings that lined the streets were all stone or otherwise rundown wooden structures. The cobblestone structures had multiple fissures that looked like they were welded together with terrible earth patching jobs. While the plants that had been there also looked like they were poorly tended to or removed where needed.

  Worse, there was smoke and soot trails over most of the street. Apparently, rather than investing in individual fireplaces or heating systems, the cities hired fire mages to send fire through metal pipes that heated buildings. I had read about such events but found the words to be vastly different to the actual experience showed.

  In all, it looked like a society that was caught between multiple generations of life all at one time. There was the seventeenth century manor house style that I lived in, with a few modern amenities, like running water, and centralized heating and air conditioning. Then there were places like this, that looked like they were being built over with advancements that were otherwise pushing the old and dated housing down.

  It almost seemed like an industrial revolution was taking over the city and burying the past in its attempt to take over and modernize the world. Finally, the schoolhouse came into view. As a noble male, I was apparently allowed to go to the local school. This was a change that had only happened within the last half decade or so. I’d like to think that my planet had some bearing on this sudden inclusion of male students to the population, but I can’t tell for certain.

  I am certain that my mother would have paid for my entrance spot if needed, being the first born of a family, was important. Despite my not being able to carry on the mitochondria of my mother to future generations, I was still carrying her mitochondria, making me unequivocally hers. Thus, my not being accepted to school, at least the primary classes would be seen as an insult.

  My only concern for school would be on ways to work on improving my Telekinesis while being watched by a teacher and other students. Though if they were anything like Sarina, then I would be fine.

  “Here we are,” the driver, a young, awakened female who apparently never saw combat stated. I can tell she never saw combat, because she is somehow even smaller than Sarina.

  I get out, only to find that Sarina has exited the vehicle and has run around to join me.

  “I will only be able to walk you to the doorway,” Sarina states nervously as she holds out her hand, in a gesture to walk me to my class.

  Seeing the hand, I just shake my head, “I’ll be fine.”

  With that, I get out and walk my own way towards class and begin my first day of integration with fellow students.

  As I arrive, I wonder if there are any other psionic users like me, ones who managed to perform the dark arts and reincarnate their way to a second life.

  ***

  As the boy walked away, seemingly unfazed by his new surroundings, Sarina could only look on with muted horror.

  “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” the Driver, Ceecee states reassuringly.

  “I’m not worried about him, I more worried about what he will do to those other kids,” Sarina answered honestly.

  This was part of why she tried so hard to get Missala, or Sal as he insisted on being called, to change his name. That way, he could lay low and be relatively normal for at least one day. One day, that was all Sarina asked for, but yet, that seemed like far too big of a task to ask for from the boy who already brought great shame on the master’s name by being such a Sueboy, that even the staff muttered about it behind her back.

  Of course, the master was well aware of all that was said and done within her domicile. Which meant that Sarina had many late-night conversations with the mistress, while going over ways to help curtail Missala’s rebellious nature. Which only seemed to cause the boy to lash out even more.

  This was how they were here now, watching a clearly effeminate boy walk right into a school like he owned the place.

  In a way, Sarina was glad she couldn’t in fact enter the school, otherwise she would never be able to leave due to the actions of her one ward.

  “Where should we go to now?” Ceecee asked, as this was her duty assignment for the day, as well.

  “The pub, somehow I think I am going to need a really big drink after today,” Sarina began.

  “But it is only eight AM?” Ceecee explained. Hearing her, Sarina could only nod.

  “Right, right, good call. Let’s get a greasy breakfast first, then go to the pub.”

  Ceecee looked like she wanted to again protest, but Sarina had already left her spot and began going back to the car.

  “Okay?” Ceecee said, closing the door that the young master had vacated and then got into her own driver’s seat. As she did, she thought apparently today is going to be a long day.