Chapter Two: Being A Woman
âBEING A WOMAN IS A TERRIBLY DIFFICULT TASK, SINCE IT CONSISTS PRINCIPALLY IN DEALING WITH MEN.â -JOSEPH CONRAD
Elijah screamed, a shrill, feminine, high-pitched shriek that behooved his new body and not his old one.
Ah, Iâm only teasing you, Amanda, the voice continued, decidedly joyful now. Whatâs wrong? Never heard someone in your head before?
âWhy are you in my head?â He asked, mind reeling from the shock of an unfamiliar, sarcastic voice coming from nowhere and everywhere simultaneously. His own voice surprised him; it was obviously of a teenage girl, and although the words fit him, his voice did not. âWho the hell is Amanda, and, most importantly, who the hell are you?â
The strange voice cackled, but he couldnât be sure if it was a laugh, as it lacked emotion, being a mental sound, not a physical one.
How do you not recognize yourself, Amanda? Elijah, feeling chills at the pronouncement, guessed Amanda was the name of the woman that he was in the body of. Iâm inside your head because I am your Guide, here to welcome you to the wonderful land of Advantia, which I am sure youâll love, just like I did.
âJust like you did?â Elijah said. âYou didnât answer the question I asked you before, oh wise guide. Who are you?â
I did answer that question, dumbass, the chipper voice continued, and he picked up a bit of irony in her subtle inflection. As I have already mentioned to you, I am your Guide, but I understand thatâs not what you want from me. Not long ago, people knew me as Amanda Gold, Princess of Advantia, son of Queen Evangeline and Consort Reynolds, who is deceased.
âHow can you be Amanda if you called me that?â
Listen up, please, the voice said. I was recounting to you my tale, and, unless you do not desire to understand what is happening, then keep talking. Ah, now you shut up, see? You shouldâve known the answer at this point, but apparently, you have not, so let me explain. I was Amanda until you became Amanda.
âAre you saying that I took over your body?â He wondered. âAnd please call me Elijah. That is my name; Amanda is just the shape I seem to inhabit right now.â
Congratulations, Amanda, youâve figured it out! Yes, the form you are currently in is Amanda Goldâs, or, in other words, it is mine. You conquered Amandaâs soul, turning it into a Guide, which is meâI canât believe I have to say that, but you wouldnât have gotten it otherwiseâand so I am here to explain to you the wonders of this world.
Elijahâsâor Amandaâsâmouth dropped, his brain trying to process all the information the old princessâ voice had been oh-so-happily providing.
âBut I didnât want to conquer Princess Amandaâs soul!â
Then why did you do it? The voice sounded confused now, and Elijah shared its emotion, although it was for different reasons than the voice. As your guide, Amanda, or Elijah, or whatever you told me, I am here to instruct you on how you shall live your life in Advantia, how the world works, and what you shall do as the crown princess.
âI know how the world works: Iâve studied science!â
I do not see how science is important here, Guide Amanda said. You need to learn about levels and skills, mana, and relationships. When I was Amanda Gold, which to some degree I still am, I was a level 24 princess. Now that you have taken over my body, you were demoted back to level 1. At sixteen years old, itâs abnormal to be at level 1, and itâs shameful.
âIâm sorry, but I understand nothing you just said,â Elijah retorted. âWhat are levels or skills or all of the other damn insane things you mentioned?â
You are not making this any easier, Amanda. Levels are a crucial part of all existence here in Advantia. Everyone has levels based on their occupation; one is more powerful and well-respected the more they possess. As a level 24 princess, I, Amanda, now your Guide, was very strong; as a level 1 princess, you, Amanda, once Elijah, are very weak. Does that make sense?
âMaybe?â Elijah said. âI assume those levels are similar to those in video games, but Iâm not sure. What about the others?â
Ah yes, skills. Every time you level up, you earn a skill. Skills are an important means of making your life easier or more fruitful. You shall learn to cherish your skills and become wiser for it. The skill you earned for level 1 is Political Ease. This will make thinking and planning political or diplomatic moves more simple, especially with other members of foreign royal houses, as much of your job as princess involves debating and compromising with other royals.
âYou do know Iâm still very confused, right?â
Youâll learn as you go along. Mana is the third aspect you must be instructed on. The more Mana you earn, the closer you get to leveling up, by increasing all your different abilities. There are many ways to take or earn Mana, including killing someone, making them surrender Mana to you, and shaming them, although you can also earn it from passive means. Relationships are the last thing I shall teach you before I guide you through your first day. Relationship score will help you with dealing with other people and understanding them more.
There are three slides in relationships. The first is love; the more someone loves you, the easier it shall be for you to communicate or interact with them, and the more intimate your relationship shall be. Trust is the second slide; the more a person trusts you, the better off you shall be, especially in your friendship with them. Finally, the third is exclusive to members of royal families: authority; the more authority you hold over others, the more weight your commands shall have, and others shall have more of an impulse to obey you.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
âI think Iâm beginning to understand,â Elijah said. âBut before we do anything else, I need to piss.â
Guide Amanda sighed, and he chuckled to himself.
There is a restroom right over there, she told him.
Somehow, he understood which direction Amanda was talking about, and there he found a door he hadnât noticed before.
Upon opening it, he discovered a lavish bathroom that provided more than he wouldâve ever needed back on Earth. In the bathroom, there was a different mirror, slightly smaller than the one in Amandaâs roomâhis room, he corrected himselfâbut still bigger than any mirror he had in his previous house. The bath was so large that it could have accommodated at least three different Elijahs, although the notion caused him to blush because of the girl living in his mind.
âYou wonât be watching me while Iâm in there, will you?â He asked, embarrassed but indignant.
Do you remember that this used to be my body, Elijah? The voice responded to him, rolling its eyes metaphorically. And you mustn't say what you are thinking out loud. I can hear your thoughts just fine.
âThatâs creepy as hell! I still donât want you peeping! I prefer talking out loud, thank you very much. It provides a modicum of modesty for me.â
Modicum? Elijah thought. Where the hell did I learn that word?
Must be the world of Advantia getting to you and your dumb ass already, the Guide chuckled. Whatever world you lived in before made your vocabulary too informal, which, you can see, affected me as well, being your guide. The longer you stay here in Advantia, though, the better your language will be.
âWait, are you telling me Iâll start using smart words instead of normal ones?â
Precisely. You didnât know that word, did you? The sarcasm was evident despite the lack of tone, and Elijah felt he had to defend himself from the extremely annoying voice assaulting his mind and language.
âYes, I knew that word. It means exactly, which is another word I know! Also, did you say you knew my thoughts?â
Oh yes. As soon as you saw Amandaâs curvaceous body, I understood thatâ¦
âEnough! I get it.â Elijah gritted his teeth, annoyance sparking in him. He did not want a sarcastic robot in his brain reading his thoughts 24/7, for obvious reasons, and hated being in another world, too. This was just one hell of a nightmare, one he needed to escape asap!
I heard that part too. And no, I am not a robot. I cognize, and everything I say is from my own precious free will. I am not some machine or automaton stuck in your head; the soul I am is what remains after you killed it, willingly or not, so I am still human, at least as much as a disembodied voice can be.
âI get it!â Elijah screamed. âJust please be quiet while I do my business.â
Fine.
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Thirty minutes later, Elijah walked out of the bathroom, cheeks flushed red, and anger bursting in his head. This had been the most awkward situation heâd ever experienced, and he never wished to repeat it.
His first problem was that the voiceâGuide or Amanda, whatever you prefer, it jumped inâhad been humming while he sat on the toilet, occasionally giving him comments about how bad he was at this.
Worse than that, though, was his attempt to piss. He had had many problems just trying to remove or disentangle the dress somehow, which caused him an endless amount of nervousness, frustration, and embarrassment, something Amandaâhonestly, I prefer Guide; it fits me better, donât you think?âteased him ferociously about. Then there had been adapting to his newâ¦âfemale reproductive organs, I generously provide you, my knowledge knowing no boundsâyes, female reproductive organs. While gritting his teeth again, Elijah cursed the Guide in his subconsciousâyou know I can still hear you, right?âand resumed his train of thought.
It had taken him at least ten minutes to piss after heâd shifted the comfortable yet infuriating dress, and, later, itâd taken him five more to shift the dress back.
Being a woman was difficult, and he was only now realizing it.
Youâre exaggerating, the Guide said, and he assumed she was amused. Life shall get much harder for you, Amanda. You can be sure of that.
âIs this world misogynist?â He wondered, hoping he had not traveled to a planet of prejudice.
Thereâs a queen. Donât be daft, his Guide responded. My god, this will be so much worse than I expected.
He sighed in relief, smoothing his dress that still felt odd on him. Also, the plunging neckline was bothering him; if he was stuck in this body at present, he refused to flaunt his assets, at least, not like it was now.
Beautiful, right, Amanda?
Jumping in the air, Elijah shrieked, and, again, he noticed how much higher pitched his new voice was. He glared at nowhere, hoping the Guide could understand the look was pointed at her, though he was thinking it, so she most likely understood.
âAre you going to call me Elijah or Amanda?â
Aw, youâre no fun, answering a question with another question. The Guide huffed. Iâll call you whatever I want to at the moment. Is that clear? Now answer my question before I scramble your mind!
âYou can do that?â Elijah asked, horrified at the prospect. Upon detecting anger from the voice, he wised up and responded. âYes, Amanda is beautiful, or I guess I am beautiful.â
The Guide tittered. Falling in love with yourself already, are you? Now, it is time to begin your first day as Princess Amanda of Advantia. Forget everything you know about yourself, Elijah. You are not a boy, a commoner, or an uncultured swine anymoreâoffense very much meant. When we go outside, make sure you follow my instructions. When I believe you are readyâand only when I say soâwill I allow you any sort of autonomy!
âSo, youâre telling me I am a puppet with no free will?â
No, of course not. The Guide paused for a second. Yes, thatâs exactly what I am telling you. Although you do have free will, you must lend your ear to me unless you aspire to be arrested and executed, and while I would adore to see that happen to you, I am still attached to this body of yours. Do not ruin it or I will ruin you.
âThank you for the optimism,â Elijah rolled his eyes and pulled up his dress a little, attempting to cover some of the cleavage.
Anytime, Amanda, anytime. Now go out and prove youâre a princess to everyone.
He took a deep breath, preparing himself for his new lifestyle of luxury and comfort as a woman heâd never been or known in a whole new world.
He wasnât sure he was ready, but he was damned if that would stop him from surviving. If he was really in danger if he performed wrong, he would do everything he could to become the princess he had to be, for his own sakeâand mine, the Guide exclaimed happily.
Elijah sighed, looked up, and opened the chamber door.