The Heart of a Sorceress
Highwind45833
Chapter 1
"The Cadets that have been approved to take the SeeD exam please report to the Classroom on the second floor." The intercom rang through Balamb Garden. Drake sighed and shrugged his shoulders as he took a bite of his hot dog. He was literally the one that was replaced by some girl that had transferred from Trabia.
Lily looked at him over a smoothie. "Tough luck huh?" She smiled at him. "Just think, next operation, we will undertake it together!" She giggled and flicked a lock of auburn hair out of her face.
Drake nodded. "At least we still have the Garden festival right? Speaking of which… who is in charge of that again?"
Lily thought for a moment. "I think its Selphie ... you know that transfer from Trabia?" At that Drake looked solemn again. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to remind you."
"No Lily. It's fine." Drake smiled, trying to not let her know how disappointed he really was. Damn! If I was only a little stronger…I would be out there participating in the operation.
A man with a tattoo on his face ran and did a backflip over the table Drake and Lily were sitting at. "Time to go kick the SeeD exam's ass!" That would probably be Zell. He was an expert in martial arts. Drake remembered fighting him in the tournament the Garden held last month. He had been so close… But Zell had managed to dodge his knife at the last second and delivered a powerful uppercut to Drake's jaw. He had been passed out for two hours afterwards. He would make a great SeeD if he would calm down.
As soon as the two had finished their food, another announcement came over the intercom. "Cadets 50943, 34291, 89372, and 06581 please report to the Headmaster's office." 34291? That was Drake! And 89372 was Lily. What could be happening?
Lily caught Drake's eyes and nodded. They rose and walked toward the elevator. A group of three people walked in front of them and one bumped into Lily. 'Hey! Watch where you're going y'know?" Drake stepped in front of her defensively.
The one that appeared to be the leader looked back at them. "That was your fault Raijin. But carrying garbage outside of the classroom is against Garden regulation." He gave them a once over. "I'm in a charitable mood right now because of the exam, so get lost and I won't have to take disciplinary action."
"LEAVE!" the girl standing to the left of the one in the white coat said.
'I'm sorry... We were a bit nervous because we were summoned to the headmaster's office." Lily muttered. "I wasn't paying any attention." She inched closer to Drake, who simply walked past the three. He then opened the elevator.
Once the door closed Drake turned to Lily. "What the hell was that? Why did you apologize to them?"
Lily looked at her feet. "I was a bit nervous…I didn't want to start a fight."
'I would have been able to take them…except for the one in white. I watched him train this morning. He showed no mercy… He broke through his partner's guard and…" Drake slashed the air holding an imaginary gunblade. "Cut his face. It was brutal." Lily gasped.
The elevator dinged. "We're here! Come on!" Drake smiled and walked out. Lily followed him as he walked into the line and snapped to attention. There were two other cadets. Drake recognized both of them. The first was Alice, a quiet girl, but she was an expert at using magic that she drew from her opponents. The other, Drake was not happy to see. It was Zephyr. Drake remembered how he was the only one that bested him at the marksmanship at Balamb. The bow had an obvious advantage! It was just unfair… but there was a better marksman than them at Galbadia Garden. He hoped to meet Irvine Kinneas someday…
Headmaster Cid looked at them all and cleared his throat. "I bet you are all wondering why I called you here today…" Drake's heart pounded. Were they going to receive some sort of punishment? Or was it a promotion?
"Well cadets, this upcoming SeeD examination has extra openings. Your test scores are exemplary and I would like to congratulate you on being the remaining members of the exam for this semester. Report to the first floor to meet the SeeD in charge of your squad. You are all henceforth known as Squad 5. Zephyr Tarein, you are hereby assigned as Captain for this assignment. You are all dismissed. Rendezvouz at the Balamb docks at 0800 tomorrow morning."
Drake could barely contain his joy. Although it was not him that cheered once the elevator doors closed. It was Zephyr. "I knew that we would be chosen!" He exclaimed happily. This is a real mission… not a child's game. Drake thought to himself. I don't want to pick up anyone's slack. If we go down, it's all going to be on you.
Lily remained silent. She was always a timid girl, something not seen from SeeDs often. But her gunblade cut through any of those thoughts. She was an expert, third at Balamb in the rankings. Anyone would want her to watch their back in a fight. Drake absentmindedly twirled a dagger. He was nervous. What if they failed? What if he was the only one that made it back?
"Hey! I don't want you doing that in the battle!" Zephyr pushed Drake into the wall of the elevator. "Pay attention. I don't want any dead weight on my squad. Understand?" He grabbed an arrow from his quiver and held it an inch from Drake's face
Drake's knife went up and pointed at Zephyr, an inch from his throat. Lily pulled Zephyr away. "Will you two stop it? We have an operation to focus on…" The two promptly put their weapons away. Lily had that effect on people. She didn't speak much, but when she did, others obeyed without question. She should have been the one in charge.
The team was dysfunctional. Only time will tell if it works... Zephyr thought to himself. We may not come back alive. I hope that isn't the case.
Alice looks up from the ground for a moment. "I hope we all do well tomorrow…. Does everyone have their Guardian Force Junctioned?" to that all four nodded. They all at the least had Ifirit, Quetzalcoatl or Shiva. The crystals that encased their beings were all near Balamb.
The elevator opened to the first floor. Waiting at the bottom of the blue steps was a man in a grey suit. It seemed normal enough as if he had just driven from Balamb, like many businessmen do. The only difference was the way he carried himself. He definitely had the discipline of a soldier.