She tried to steady her shaking hands and breath as her anticipation and fear started to rise.

Sweat ran down her forehead, ruining her makeup. She didn't care. She even wished she was ugly as she can possibly get.

'Don't choose me, don't choose me' she chanted in her mind. It was the same thought that ran in every girls mind in that place.

She looked at her best friend Laeti who was beside her for strength, for comfort. She smiled at her but she can clearly see that she too was afraid.

'How did it get to this?' she thought as the ground quaked. The reason she was afraid drew near.

◇2 Weeks Earlier◇

The sun shone brightly on the city of Topalia. Its beautiful castle shining beautifully with the rays of the sun.

The giant castle of Topalia was in the center of the city and was glinting at the sun as it was covered in precious magical stones.

It was also covered in ancient writings of powerful wizards from top to bottom and unexpectedly made it look even more beautiful.

It was written there to protect the castle from different kinds of dangers, most of them were written by a powerful wizard known as Seferno.

Seferno was part of the 5 most powerful wizards of all time and was also the priest of the royal family. He was also the one that cast the powerful spell that protected and covered the city.

Anyone who steps outside or inside the barrier without permission would be immediately be electrocuted and the farther they step out, the more powerful and more painful it would be until they get electrocuted to death.

The only way in or out of the city was through the bridge of Merhu, also known as the gate of Merhu.

The gate was 250 feet tall and was wide enough for 2 fat giants to fit through. It is heavily guarded by knights, wizards and soldiers.

Though all of the protection the city has isn't meant to protect itself from another kingdoms attack. It was meant to protect the city from the most fearsome enemy of all.

Dragons.

The city of Topalia was known for its wealth, beauty and abundance in magic. But it was also known to be the safest place from dragons. For years dragons have tried and failed to penetrate the barrier.

And because of this the city was known for its safety from not only dragons but from witches, dark wizards, evil sorcerers etc.

The city was like a shining beacon that will take you away from the dangers of the world.

But on its darker side, the city was also known for its cruel discrimination for the poor.

Surrounding the castle was the houses of nobles and rich merchants, they surrounded the beautiful castle like flowers surrounding a majestic tree.

Surrounding the houses of the rich were the middle class, their houses were much simpler but decent nonetheless.

But surrounding their houses were the houses of the poor. And they were all separated from each other by a high transparent wall made of magic.

The houses of the poor were hardly even considered as houses. Their streets were crawling with rats and were filled with animal droppings. The streets were also filled with thieves, beggars and abandoned children.

On a small house that looked like one strong push could make it topple to the ground lived a small group of orphans.

They escaped from the orphanage that they lived in because they could no longer bear the maltreatment they suffered there.

They all worked hard to keep themselves fed, even the youngest in the group had to work as messenger just to help out in their daily battle for survival.

And in that house, a girl slept peacefully, with dreams that were filled with adventures and joy...until she heard a voice call out to her.

"Naera! Wake up! Or you'll be late for work!" Laeti said as she shook her.

"All right, all right! I'm up!" she said as she yawned. She looked at the rising sun and at the beautiful castle outside her window.

"Why did you wake me up so early? My work is in the afternoon! Not early in the morning!" she said throwing her pillow at her.

"I was talking about the chores! Get your lazy butt up!" she said throwing back the pillow she threw. She only groaned in reply. Another pillow was thrown at her out of nowhere.