"We won't need a backup plan, because we won't fail," Kayle said with conviction.
She looked at Zyra's skeptical facial expression and let out an exaggerated sigh.
After Zyra raised an eyebrow at her in response. "If one of us doesn't make it. Neither of us goes. It's that simple."
Kayle got up from the table to wash her empty bowl.
She was agitated because normally she waited until Zyra finished eating.
This was a conversation she did not want to have.
Just the mere thought of being separated from the only family she had left made Kayle feel sick to her stomach.
Zyra acknowledged that Kayle didn't sacrifice or come so far to give up that easily.
It's just that there comes a time when you just have to be practical.
"You are talking like we have a choice in the matter. Castle guards don't care if they split families up. They will do as their masters ask or find themselves dead or, even worse, living on the outskirts with us."
"Don't you think I know that? I've given the outcome endless thought and weighed all the possibilities in my mind."
Kayle stacked the last of the dishes from the sink neatly on the tray after using a cloth to wipe away the excess water.
Routine was what Kayle loved, and it was something she could depend on.
She turned to face Zyra once more. "The worst that can happen is that we aren't assigned to the same household, but I can assure you we will both pass. It's what we have been preparing for since our parents passed."
Zyra decided to let the matter drop. She didn't want to rile Kayle any further than she already had.
This was a big night for both of them and possibly their last night in this hovel they called home. They both needed to rest and keep their wits about them.
Especially since they do not know what they would face on the tests come the morning.
She expected it would test both their mental and physical prowess. The better they performed, the rewards would be greater.
As they would both have time to be placed in a better household.
Having a wealthy patron didn't mean that you won't have to work hard, but it meant your quality of life would be improved.
Also, you would have more opportunities for privacy and leisure.
It was rumored that you could even attend fancy parties or, even better, have access to large libraries, which was something Zyra craved.
Being placed in a low-income household; chances are you would get a heavy workload and probably wish you were back on the outskirts.
Where at least you had the freedom to come and go as you pleased.
Now you answered to a master and had to respond quickly to their whims or face dire punishments.
What about the wolfbeast? Would they ever meet again?
She doubted it, for even within the castle wall system, there was a hierarchy.
Only the most exceptional humans got to live and work directly with the wolfbeasts.
The Fringes were a rebel group that lived on the outer edges of the area.
Not much is known about them because, as quickly as they planned an insurrection, it was always swiftly nullified by the wolfbeasts.
One thing they knew for sure was that the wolfbeast population wasn't growing.
There were no female wolfbeasts that came over in the first wave that came to Earth.
Many rumors raged throughout the human population.
People believed that the wolfbeasts that came over were sterile and humans only had to be patient and wait for mother nature to run its course.
Others believed they were waiting until they got rid of all the Fringes making the earth safe. Only then would they send for their mates.
Some hinted that there was a war going on between the wolfbeasts and other aliens.
They were a dying breed that would always be on the run.
Leeching the resources and fleeing from planet to planet.
Yet no one knew anything for sure and certainly would not ask the wolfbeasts directly.
They had no curtains so the sunrise always woke Zyra up every morning and today; the day of the test was no exception.
It was just like any normal day, with no fanfare or any escorts to the testing grounds.
You had a choice from the very beginning.
Just reaching the site was your decision to make from the start.
Zyra did her chores, as usual, cleaned her room, and watered the plants in the garden.
Then she bathed and put on her favorite outfit.
A simple sleeveless black dress with two simple layers of ruffle at the end.
Like all her other dresses, it allowed for easy movement so she could run for her life when necessary.
It also made her feel feminine and desirable. Not that she was looking, but she wouldn't mind having what her parents shared someday.
Just like all her other outfits, Kayle had sewn it skillfully from scraps, but this one was special.
The last memory she had of her mother was her wearing a similar dress. She never wanted her memory of their parents to fade and it was the simple things that helped.
"Zyra, are you ready?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
Zyra took one last look at their home.
It might have looked like a rundown hovel to others, but it had been their home for the last five years.
Without her parents around to provide a source of income, they had been evicted from the main family house.
They were lucky enough to get a week to move their belongings before the new family moved in.
Kayle had forbidden her to cry, but she cried anyway.
It must have been hard for Kayle to step into the role of caregiver at such a young age.
She simply reminded Zyra that the house wasn't their home.
The home was wherever they were. She had found an abandoned shack.
It was a fixer-upper, and it had potential. Zyra just needed to see the possibilities, too.
They could bond over renovating it and, with the additions from their house, it would be liveable.
Both could feel at home there or living in a sewer. It didn't matter where they lived as long as they had each other.
Kayle acted wise beyond her years, and it was easy for Zyra to cling to her beliefs and follow suit.
Nothing was more important than family, and Kayle would willingly give all she had to prevent them from being separated.
No one was ever allowed inside the shack because Kayle had the same mentality her parents had.
Her parents were very humble and never flaunted what they had.
Kayle would listen to their evening chats when they talked about the latest local news and what was wrong with society.
She knew from history that people were never satisfied. They always felt the grass was greener on the other side.
Leaving the outside of the shack looking run down and dilapidated meant that no one would bother them.
Thinking they had nothing worth stealing.
She wasn't naïve either, and she was fully aware there was a seedy underground market for selling underaged girls.
The greed would eventually cause men to come looking for them someday.
So she had the area booby-trapped.
Only she and Zyra knew where to walk to avoid setting off the traps.
Should the wires be tripped, it would give them ample time to run or hide.
Lucky for them, the area they lived in was a smelly wasteland and no one would voluntarily venture where they lived.
It was hard for Zyra to say goodbye since this was all she knew and had grown accustomed to.
A part of her wished Kayle wasn't so ambitious and that they could have just stayed isolated and hidden away from the rest of the world.
Kayle had counter-argued that eventually the odious vapors would make them sick and did she want to die young.
They had been lucky so far, but the older they grew, the more attention they attracted.
Deep down, they both knew that the booby traps they laid would do nothing to fend off unwanted suitors.
They both set off down the path to the testing grounds.
There would be no turning back or changing their minds.