Keeping her eyes low Saraphina followed the older women through the halls. She could feel the long part of her skirt hitting against her legs as she walked, the clothing created a somewhat loud ruffling sound throughout the quiet hallways.

Finally, they made their way to the end of the hallway. A large painting of Mary Rosewood hung the whole length of the wall in front of them. The painting connecting the two walls to a dead end. At least to the naked eye, it appeared as a dead end.

Mary Rosewood once again waved her hand over the painting and it vanished revealing a door into her office. She opened the door, but held it open and stood to the side. Saraphina took in a deep breath as she made her way into the rather large room.

There was a desk to one side, and a long bookshelf that lined the wall to the right of her. The wall in front of her was several large windows peering out into the village below. Most of the area in the room was nothing but open space. The white clear floor reflecting the organized almost uninhabited looking room. Even the desk was nicely organized with only a handful of papers on the desk.

Mary Rosewood walked past her granddaughter and pulled out the old wooden chair that was in front of the desk. After sitting down she moved her hand with a very slight whimsical flow of her wrist from her left to her right, an indication for Saraphina to continue into the room.

With her head lowered Saraphina walked with very tiny steps toward the center of the room. From the corner of her eyes, she watched as Mary Rosewood pulled open a draw and pulled out a folder. The women loosely dropped this folder onto the desk. She then placed her pointer, middle and ring fingers onto the tan folder and pushed it towards the end of the desk.

“Please pick up this folder and open it. I will explain after you examine its contents.” Mary Rosewood straightened her back and lifted her chin up slightly. The women were very elegant, everything she did seem to have a purpose, ever slight flow of her fingers, every gaze. She never halved anything and it showed in the way she carried herself. Mary Rosewood had graying slight red hair, her eyes were a crystal blue, and in all honesty, Saraphina felt disconnected from the women. Despite her birth rights as the oldest granddaughter of the Rosewood family, there is nothing other than blood that seemed similar between them.

Saraphina lifted the folder and opened it carefully to make sure none of the papers inside would fall or shift out of place. Her eyes stuck on the first page. There, right in front of her was a picture of her, she knew it was her. However, she never could have been present for such a photo shoot. There she stood, tall, almost masculine in the Rosewood Male Academy uniform, her hair cut above her ears, her bangs falling slightly over her right eye.

“Grandmother... What is the meaning of this? D-did you photo manipulate a picture of me?”

“Excuse me? Photo Manipulate? Saraphina, images like this are just a simple finger snap away. In fact,” Mary Rosewood held a large grin on her face as she placed her elbow elegantly on the desk and straightened her arm upward before snapping.

Saraphina felt a strong wind, her head felt suddenly lighter. She quickly moved her left hand up, feeling the short haircut that had been featured in the image she had been looking at. Saraphina screamed realizing her hair wasn't the only thing to have changed, she left go of the folder and the pages scattered around her feet. “How could you-” She paused as her hands went down and felt her chest. She muttered slightly, “there wasn't much there, to begin with, but...” Her eyes widened as she pulled open her skirt and stared down at herself. Quickly letting go the elastic band snapped back in place. In two large almost cowboy like strides she slammed her hands down roughly on the desk in front of her, her face a bright red.

“Change me back!” tears began to swell up in Saraphina's eyes as her grandmother looked at her a bit too delighted. She snapped her fingers one more time and Saraphina's hair towered down around her.

“W-why did you make a picture of me as a boy... Why did you turn me into one... I don't”

“Saraphina please try to calm down-”

“Are you kicking me out of the academy and are now trying to mock me. Are my abilities as a Rosewood female lacking to the point of being that much less than the Rosewood female ancestors that came before me? Please, Grandmother, I'll do anything just please let me prove myself.”

“Saraphina dear,” Headmistress Rosewood's voice became rather light and she reached over the table to place her hand on her granddaughter's cheek. “There is no reason to cry. Now listen to me calmly. Me kicking out of the academy was just to keep away suspicion.”

“Suspicion?”

“Saraphina you are a Rosewood, you show great power, but you lack any concentration and the proper guidelines to really focus your abilities. Unlike my time you cannot focus your abilities here in the physical ways that I had done when the Academies were united and males and females were taught everything equally.”

“Yes, but a lot has changed since then...”

“Saraphina we have gone backward in many ways. Many magic user families bloodlines had died out due to the previous violence between our neighboring countries and issues within our own borders. Many of the female families do not possess healing abilities or more practical magic abilities suited for a regular human's society. It's the sad truth but female magic users cannot learn any fighting magic, it is prohibited. The same with using tricks to falsify documents such as the ones you see before you. However, Saraphina, your magic like all the Rosewoods before you and I benefit from the battlegrounds. Essays and books will only take you so far. However, I can't legally train you here, and the only place to get proper training is the male academy.”

“What are you trying to say? I don't get it. You want us to break the law so that I can learn some battle strategies that I will most likely never need to use?”

“I want you to prove to the rest of the cabinet members that magic users, despite gender need to learn and perfect their own abilities to better aid this country. Currently, I am the only magic user left on the board and I do not have enough pull to help out our kind. The more time passes the less they want to see our side. If things continue in this direction magic will be banned from this country. We cannot allow that to happen, at this rate, we have very few members left who can fight.”

“We have plenty of males who-”

“We have males who know how to fight, this is true, however, they do not even know the slightest healing abilities. In fact, it's something I've realized long before these rules were put in place, but I knew that I did not have the authority to go against them. Saraphina, my generation is destroying yours, I am sorry about this, but I have to pass this burden onto you. Edwain Ross Zanderson will be here soon to take you to the male academy. It would be best if you get dressed.”

“Grandmother Rosewood, I could never pass for a male... I mean I-”

Mary Rosewood quickly cut her off as she pulled out a Rosewood Male Academy black uniform with a black tie and a silk crimson red undershirt. She then sat a wig on top of if.

“Although it would be best for you to change your gender entirely. The more you stay as the opposite gender the more it will affect your brain, and cause mass confusion. I recommend learning how to control the ability, at least for your hair, and upper body, however, I would recommend only using it in cases of emergency. On top is a wig, which will match perfectly to the image I had created of you. There is a rather simple ability that even you can do to make the wig stay on perfectly and conceal your real hair without worries of falling off. It will act completely as your real hair without any irritation Be thankful that I spent the few seconds to make it. I debated if I should force you to cut your hair.”

“Grandmother can you possibly reconsider?”

“It's far too late for that Saraphina. I have already taken the liberty of contacting Frances Lee Zander to allow me to use him as your adoptive father. If you would have actually looked through those papers as I had instructed you would have known that” Mary Rosewood's voice was rather calm, but her eyes were sharp as if a knife could fly through them and pierce through solid steel armor. Mary Rosewood still had her arm up elegantly, she waved her hand in a circular motion and the pages that had fallen from the folder, along with the folder itself flew around Saraphina before making their way into Mary Rosewoods now flat palm. “From now on Saraphina, you will be known as Sora Jason Zanderson. You must make it your mission to learn the most you can at Rosewood Male Academy and make sure no one but Edwain Ross Zanderson ever finds out who you really are. Especially, Tyler Averson. Do you understand?”

Saraphina felt a cold sweat running down her spine as she stared at her grandmother. She knew her word was final.

“Nothing to say? Good. I will be sending everything you will need to your dorm room once you are settled. Zanderson should be here soon, please be sure to change.” Once again the women waved her hand and a door appeared. Saraphina lifted up the set of clothing from the desk and the wig, her eyes lowered. Before she turned away, her grandmother held out the folder towards her. Saraphina took it once more, though unable to look her grandmother in the eyes.

With her back towards her grandmother, Saraphina sucked in a deep breath and then released it. “Headmistress Rosewood. I promise I will not tarnish the Rosewood name. I will prove myself as your heir.” She hesitated, waiting for some response. However, one didn't seem likely. Saraphina refused to look back as she reached for the handle and walked into the room. The door slamming behind her.