I seemed to have made a terrible error. You see, in the last chapter, I said there were 5 children, but in
actuality there are only four. I know, I know, that makes six counting Syaoran,but despite Mr. Terada's
announcement, there will be more children on the way...two to be exact.

The 7th Warrior Trilogy
The Beginning
Chapter 3
******

" Come on now, everyone. Hop to it! We need to get to our classroom."
" Alright."
" Now everyone form two lines. Partner up."

All the children were immediately lined up. Eriol with Marc, Tomoyo with Sakura, and
poor Syaoran with Meilin. Tomoyo and Sakura immediately began to talk.

" Hi! My name's Sakura. How 'bout you?"
" My name's Tomoyo. Did you live on this station all your life?"
" As far back as I can remember."
" How about that other boy?"
" Who? Him?" Sakura looked in Syaoran's direction.
" Yeah."
" I don't know, and I don't care."
" Sakura! That's not very nice."
" He's not very nice."
" Why, what happened?"

Sakura began to weave the tale of their first meeting, and Tomoyo listened in. Meanwhile,
Eriol and Marc found themselves admiring the scenery.

" Those two are quite a pair." Marc observed.
" Yes."
" You know, I kinda like the one with brown hair." He started.
" Hmmm..."
" But, the black haired one is pretty too." Eriol turned at this statement.
" Nah, definitely the brown haired." Eriol breathed a sigh of relief. Big mistake.
" What's your problem?" Marc seemed puzzled.
" Nothing."
" Oh, I get it. You don't want me having the black haired one because you got your eye..."
" I certainly do not." Eriol's face said otherwise.
" Ah ha! Knew it!" Marc's face twisted into an evil grin.
" Ridiculous..."
" You like that black haired girl that's hanging around that Syaoran kid!"

Eriol could have collapsed at the stupid statement. Then again he could have screamed
'hallelujah' too.

" That one?" Eriol could speak without hesitation," Nah..."
" Hmmm..." Marc wasn't as smart as he thought.
" Like I said. Those two are quite a pair. One's quiet and stubborn, and the other's loud and
gutsy! My kinda girls." Marc continued.
" I don't know." Eriol said vaguely," How about the other one?"
" Her? Nah...too mellow...not my type..." Eriol felt himself sigh in relief.

Meanwhile, despite his mental protest, Syaoran was keeping a sharp eye on Marc.
' Sakura may be annoying and a brat, but even she doesn't deserve to be stalked by that kid.'
******
" We're here!" Mr. Terada shouted.

They were standing outside one of many rooms in the habitation deck. They entered, and
found to their surprise an empty room.

" What kind of class is this?" Meilin immediately screamed.
" Yeah? Where's all the desks and stuff?" Marc argued.
" This is a class for gifted. My word for..."
" Magic..." Tomoyo said.
" That's right, how did you...."
" I don't know..."
" Are you willing to take a guess?" Mr. Terada smiled.
" I have magic?"
" Right. And so do all of you."

Syaoran looked around. All these kids had magic? Even Sakura? He laughed haughtily.
That girl had magic? That was a surprise. Definitely.

" But, before you start, I want to know if any of you has ever used magic before."

Sakura was surprised to find that she was the only ones to raise her hands.

" Alright. Now, before we start, does anyone have any problems with their magic?"

Syaoran expected to see Sakura shake her head. Instead, she hesitated.
' Touya said never to tell him about the curse. But, what if he finds out anyway..."

" Sakura?" She looked up into the questioning eyes of her classmates and teacher.

' I have to follow Touya's directions. Better safe then sorry.'

" No, sir. Nothing here." She smiled her award winning grin.

Mr. Terada seemed to contemplate this for a second, then shrugged it off. He turned to
Syaoran.

" Alright, I want all of you to watch very carefully. Sakura, would you kindly do a
demonstration."
******
Syaoran watched in puzzlement.
' Why does she keep hesitating like that? Its almost as if she doesn't want to use her magic. Something
must be up."

" Sakura, what type of magic do you have?" Mr. Terada asked.
" Uhmm...I'm not sure."
" Well, demonstrate and we'll see."
" Okay."

Everyone was quiet as Sakura stood center stage. There was a period of shuffling as each
rushed to find a good seat, then silence. At first, nothing happened, and Sakura feared the worst. Then,
the familiar feeling of warmth rushed over her, waves upon waves. This followed by an icy feeling, almost like standing in a light falling of snow.
All the others gasped as a sort of mini blizzard surrounded her, cloaking her from view. Mr. Terada clapped.

" Bravo! You're a descendant of water nymphs!"
[ But, I'm not finished yet.]
" Oh? Is there something else you have in your power too?"
[ Yes.]
" Alright. This should be quite interesting."

The mini blizzard continued to blow, when slowly, but surely, it disappated, and in its place was a small white ball. It unrolled, revealing a very unusual looking cat. The eyes were unmistakably Sakura's, complimenting the white fur very nicely.

" Amazing. She's a Duea." Mr. Terada whispered.
" So," Meilin wasn't pleased at the way Syaoran was looking at Sakura," She can do two things? What's all the fuss about?"
" Oh, there's plenty to fuss about, Meilin. Only the most powerful sorceri can perform such a task as having two different types of magic integrated. Even I, whom have trained in magic for many years, cannot dream of such a feat."
" What is SO great about two? It's two for goodness sake!"
" Meilin, you must understand, that a single magic has many different spells attached to it. There is no way to learn them all in a normal lifetime. Many a mage has spent time trying to remember the spells that go along with their magic. Just because one is available, doesn't make it of any use to you. You have to remember that spell and use it often for it to work the effect you need. With Sakura, she has more then 3,000,000 spells available in water alone, and added transmorphing gives her another 2 to 3 million to choose from. Do you understand now, Meilin?"

Meilin was silent in fury. Syaoran was glaring threateningly at Marc, who seemed to find it even more attractive that Sakura was powerful. Eriol decided now was the best time to change the subject.

" How can we find out about our powers?"
" Ah ha! That's today's lesson. We must discover the powers within us, and find our soul mates."
" Soul mates?" Everyone immediately looked around.
" Yes. But, I will explain that in a second. For now, you all must access your magic, and discover it."
" But, we don't know how to do that!"
" Oh, yes. Right, I forget this class isn't intermediate...Yes. Well, no worries. I will help you speed things up. Normally, we would have to discover them on our own, but that's after months of studying...and we don't have time for that. What we need to do is bring out a sign..."
" What?!!!" Everyone's faces were bearing confused looks.
" A sign...something that will symbolically represent what your power is. Yes, alright, that shouldn't be hard. Now who wants to volunteer first?"
" I will."
******
Who is the mysterious volunteer? Find out! In chapter 4 of, The 7th Warrior Trilogy! To be continued...