Author notes: ^.^;;; Ummm. one of my reviewers was, how would you say. hyper, and proceeded to write the phrase "More Chapters" 540 times. How much I'd love to write that many chapters, that would be over kill. There will be more chapters, if I get the time out of my schoolwork.

Disclaimer: I do not own cardcaptor sakura.

Chapter 7

"Hoe?!" Sakura stopped. Syaoran and herself had been in the orchard for most of the early morning, but at the sound of the distant bell, time seemed to freeze. She knew what time that bell tolled at, considering it was the sound that usually woke her up in the morning. It was nine o'clock and time for breakfast for all the nobles. Nobles.?

"What is it?" asked Syaoran, currently sitting under a cherry tree in a relaxed manner. For several hours they had explored the expansive orchard, until he finally had to make the girl stop and rest. He was used to training for hours on end, but three hours of wandering through an orchard, did have it's own toll. He was slightly disappointed that he hadn't been able to learn anything knew, considering that plant life was part of his magic. He was an Earth mage; therefore he studied and learned all he could about the different plants and animals of the many lands. However, he did get a large insight into the girl. She was full to bursting with life and never seemed to get too caught up in being wrong. And wrong she tended to be.

"The bell has rung," she whispered more to herself than to her companion.

Syaoran didn't seem to understand what this signified and shrugged with indifference. After all, he had delayed the Li Clan arrival to noon, yesterday. This meant his annoying sisters had only seven hours to prepare for the ball. Heaven forbid that they needed more than that. He sighed inwardly. Still, he had been yelled at for a good half hour as they complained about not having enough time. Of course, he decided not to mention that the time it took for them to yell at him, they could have been getting ready.

Sakura looked at him. "The bell signals breakfast for the nobles, Prince Li. In fact, it signals most meals and the school training."

Syaoran nodded, comprehending. They had similar bells at his home. The school she was referring too, however, only dealt with military personnel. The pages and squires attended classes during the day, usually taught by the elderly knights, and then served the nobility by night. It was a hard life getting up at dawn every morning and not going to bed till late in the evening. He too had to train as a knight and did the same things, except serve nobility at night. No, he had to deal with courtesans all night, which to him was far worse than doing seventy pages of arithmetic. He still had one more year before he was knighted, and frankly he wasn't overly excited about it. Eriol loved to talk about the Ordeal, the final test to become a knight. Personally, he had heard that it wasn't a pleasant experience. On top of all that training, he also had to school his magic.

The training at the university was just as bad, if not worse, than knight training. The first level of magical studies started with simple word phrases in a multitude of languages. These students tended to be fairly young, usually ages five to ten. He had been there for almost two years, considering that he kept ditching his classes when he was at that age. The most comprehensive year tended to be the following level, or second year, where the students were placed into classes based on the magic they controlled. This was the year that students wore robes the color of their strongest magic, thus Syaoran wore green.

The next level of magic was based on hand motions without words, and tended to be some of the hardest magic to learn. Most students rarely ever got above this stage and would graduate as a third or fourth year student when they turned eighteen. The next level was magic of the mind, where you did spells by just thinking about them. This was a fifth year trait. Finally, there was weaponry and artifact magic for sixth years. Syaoran was currently a sixth year and still had another year to go before he was in full control of his magic.

"Prince Li," Sakura started, after she had noticed that the prince had gone silent for sometime. Confused she sat down next to him. "What are you thinking about?"

Syaoran glanced over at her before deciding to voice his thoughts. "I was thinking about the different levels of magic at the university as well as the different types of magic there are. Pretty silly to think about that because of a bell, isn't it?"

Sakura smiled and shook her head, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her head upon them. "Not really. Could you tell me about them?"

"Uh. sure, I guess." Syaoran scratched his head. "Well, the first years just learn simple spells, but in the second year you get to learn all about the different types of magic out there."

"Different types?" Sakura asked, her eyes a little wide. She had read some things about the different kind of magic, but she never really gave it any thought. After all, only her father was proficient in any type of magic. Yue and Kerberous were magical guardians of the Moon and Sun, but she never actually heard anyone say anything else about them.

"Yes. Magic has several different forms, ranging from life to elemental to universal. The strongest magic is of course black. Black, isn't an evil magic, just a magic that controls life and death. Only a black mage has the power to kill or bring someone back from the dead. One of my friends is one of those, with the characteristic navy blue aura. Then there's Light magic, which is a healing magic represented by white. Both black and white are called the 'life forces' of magic."

Sakura's eyes sparkled. "I know about the white mages. They are the ones that live in the temple to the Far East, right?"

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah. Whenever a white mage is chosen at the university they are sent immediately to Temple Yume. That is because in order to control light magic the holder has to be pure in body, mind, and spirit."

Sakura frowned slightly. "I hope I'm not one of those. I have a hard enough time staying inside the castle."

"You don't know what kind of mage you are?" he asked surprised.

Sakura shook her head.

Syaoran scrunched his shoulders up a little. "I guess that would make sense if you were never tested. Only a strong enough mage can test to see the colors of the auras."

"Colors? You can have more than one?"

"Aa. Most mages have many different shades, but typically there is one that stands out the most prominent and defines your main aura color."

"Ah. So your green aura is your strongest magic. What is that?"

"Green is the elemental magic for Earth. It is the strongest elemental out there. It is also an offensive and defensive magic."

"What does it do?"

"Anything that involves the Earth. You can make things grow or you could desiccate the whole land with one spell."

"Sugoi!"

"Fire is the most offensive magic. People with it usually have a pulsing red aura. You will most often find them in a role such as a fighter or mercenary. They also tend to loose their temper real quick."

Sakura stifled a slight giggle at the ending remark, which had sounded like Syaoran was speaking from first hand experience.

"Then there's wind which is a defensive magic. These are also very strong healers, as well as last line of defense in a battle. The tide in a battle could change because of wind elemental wizards. Lastly, Water is also an offensive and defensive magic. They can purify water and cause tidal waves to wash away an enemy."

"Are all mages taught to think about battles?"

Syaoran shook his head slightly. "Not really. I guess it is just because I'm a future ruler that I have to think about such things as that. In reality most elemental mages don't have battle experience. The university doesn't teach that kind of magic in classes."

Sakura nodded her head slightly. "So, are those all the different magics?"

Syaoran shook his head. "No. The rest are called the universal magics. Star, Sun, and Moon are the highest ranking of those. These tend to be really rare because the bearer must have some ability in all the elementals and life magics. I've actually never met anyone who was one of those, but my black magic friend has a strong fitting in both Moon and Sun magic. Universal magic also has lots of lower levels like Illusions, Transportation, and Levitation. The lower universals tend to not be separated out, as they are strong factors in the elementals. Occasionally, like your father, you run into very strong illusionists."

Sakura's eyes were wide. That was a lot of stuff to remember, but still really fascinating. She was about to say something more before her stomach growled.

"I take it that we should go eat before your stomach decides to eat you from the inside out."

Sakura smiled and stood up, dusting off her electric blue robes. "I think that would be a good idea, Prince Li. Shall I show you to the banquet hall?"

Syaoran paused. He would no doubt be extremely late now, and it would be bad form to not show up. However, it would also be more embarrassing to show up exceedingly late. "Um, perhaps that would not be such a good idea. I am, after all, very late and I would dishonor my family more showing up in such a state."

Sakura glanced over realizing that he was referring to his peasantry type clothes, his slightly mused hair, and the small dirt smudges that flecked his skin here and there. Sakura thought he looked absolutely charming, though she suspected that several of the nobles would faint dead away if they saw him like that. "Then I will see if I can find a servant to escort you back to your chambers to change." She turned around again, starting to walk up the slight slope in the orchard.

"Kinomoto-san. Chotto matte!"

Sakura paused and turned her head over her shoulder, confusion clearly showing on her face. If they dawdled too long breakfast would end and Sakura would miss her chance to eat. The prince could always ask for someone to bring his food, but she would be out of luck. "Nande?"

He scuffled his boot on the ground slightly as he stood up from the tree. "I. ano. don't really feel like eating in a large crowd."

She looked confused, before her eyes widened with realization. "You like to eat alone, don't you?" She knew a few nobles that preferred to eat in the confines of their rooms. "I can have a maid bring you fo-"

"Where do you normally eat?" he cut in.

"Hoe?! Ano." Sakura thought for a moment. "Usually with Tomoyo-chan, Sonomi- san, my father, and my brother in the small hall, though that's only if I'm up in time. With guests, I tend to just pick something up in the kitchen and eat outsid-"

"Sounds great!" he cut her off again. He really didn't want to be with his mother or sisters anytime soon.

"But Prince Li," Sakura started again, emphasizing the 'prince' part to show that she was slightly annoyed by his attitude. "You can't eat outside without prop-"

"I want to eat outside and a small breakfast would be fine. Now show me the way to the kitchens."

"Is that an order or a request, your highness," Sakura snapped back.

Syaoran winced. He had made his speech sound a little high handed, but the whole 'highness' was annoying. He could barely tolerate 'Prince Li' let alone being called "your highness' with as much scorn the sweet natured sorceress could muster. "Gomen nasai," he muttered. "If you would be so kind as to oblige a humble prince's askance on where thy kitchen lies, I would be most honored, fair lady."

Sakura glared at the prince hard, her brows furrowed in thought. A minute later she burst out into gales of laughter, as she finally noticed the prince's twitching eyebrow, barely concealed by his bangs. She made a mock curtsy, "Of course, sire. Right this way. Be wary of falling rocks and attacking tree roots." Of course as soon as Sakura had said this, she tripped over a tree root.

Syaoran's mouth twitched in amusement, before breaking into a silent laugh. She apparently had caught on that he was not good at apologizing towards others. Nonetheless, it apparently put the girl back into good spirits, which made him glad, though he didn't know why. All he knew for certain was that she was highly amusing.

Sakura picked herself up from the ground. "This way." She motioned him to follow and they made their way out of the orchard and into the garden. Sakura skipped along ahead, smiling brightly at all the different flowers that were blooming. It was late spring, and soon summer would be upon them.

"Summer," thought Syaoran. This summer would be the last wizard exam he would have to take at the university. After the summer solstice he would be a full-fledged Earth Mage. He was excited, to an extent, for finally he would be in the same arena as Eriol. "Eriol," muttered his brain in distain. He had been a full wizard for three years now, and had also received the highest order ever given to a mage. Because of this fact, he was able to devote the last three years solely to knight training, in which he took the ordeal this past midwinter festival. It frustrated Syaoran to no end that he, himself, should be knighted by now, not his smiling, annoying, over perceptive, deceiving, conniving.

His tirade was cut short as he saw the honey-brown of hair disappear into the castle. "That was fast," he mumbled under his breath and ran to catch up. At the doorway, he paused. The kitchen was a maze of fast moving people that it took him almost five minutes to spot the sorceress. "For one so clumsy she certainly knows how to move in a crowd," he muttered. He took a deep breath and made his way in, trying to make his way to the girl. He barely dodged servants with large trays of food, water jugs, buckets, chickens, oven bread holders, plates, glasses, squires and pages (all called in to work for such a busy week), and cooks.

To his amazement, not one of them gave him a second glance and just maneuvered around him, if he was in the way. A few older women barked sharp commands at him, but the crude language was too hard to understand in this extremely loud setting. When at last he caught up to the sorceress, her blue robes apparently didn't seem to faze any of the help as they all ignored her; he was surprised to see that she was still smiling. How could anyone smile in a setting like this? He could barely breathe, let alone smile at anybody. Not that it mattered since everyone else here tended to scowl or were too busy to put any expression on.

"Sakura-chan! You're early!" yelled a burlesque woman, wearing a dark green ragged dress and off white apron. Stains adorned her outfit, as did innumerous patches. "The second bell hadn't toll'd yet."

Several other cooks and servants laughed, while Sakura sweated slightly. It was well known that she had a habit of oversleeping, and it had become quite a joke to the people in the household. "Ne, Kime-san, we have any bread and such for me friend an' I," she replied back, her voice dropping to that of a 'commoner' speech. She stood out enough as is, and thus tried her best to speak more like the ones around her when duty called.

The woman brushed thick black curls off of her face as her beady black eyes fell upon Syaoran, whom shifted nervously behind the girl. He seemed slightly out of his element, but his clothing and appearance bespoke of a station no higher than a steward. a young steward at that. "Possibly came with one of the noble parties," Kime had concluded to herself. "Though if he was another lad like Sakura-chan, they might have a chance to gettin' hitched." She grinned widely.

Sakura stepped back slightly at the grin. Kime-san was notorious as a matchmaker of sorts for the young people of the castle, and that did not abide well with her.

"Who yer friend?" Kime called back.

"Syaoran," came the masculine reply. Lucky for Syaoran, few people knew him by that name. Most people referred to him as Xiao Lang, Prince Li, or any denomination of the two.

Sakura looked over her shoulder at him in surprise, her mouth slightly hanging open. A sharp warning glare from the prince abruptly shut it and she returned her gaze back to Kime.

"Little wolf, eh? Kawaii! And dont ye looker like a straved one at that, Syao-kun! Hikari! Get me some of that cheese there, an' Amana a basket!"

Syaoran and Sakura sweat dropped as dish after dish were placed into the basket. This was more like the amount Yukito ate, not little ol' Sakura. Then again, who knew how much the prince would eat, but by the look of things, he had met his match a long time ago.

When the basket was filled to the specifications of Kime, she handed the basket to Syaoran, much to Sakura's protest. "It is the duty of the man to carry such things," Kime stated.

Sakura was tempted to spill that Syaoran was actually a prince, and that she, a humble servant, should carry the item. Syaoran, however, didn't see the problem considering how heavy the blasted basket was. He grabbed Sakura's hand and lead the way back outside. Much to both of their embarrassment, catcalls followed the duo out of the kitchen and well into the morning sunshine.