The Test.

Virgil pumped his tail harder as he sped through the water. He was going to have to swim much faster if he wanted to beat Logan, let alone Patton! The lucky fairy didn’t have to worry about dodging rocks or fish in the way of the racing path, and Logan’s tail was much stronger than Virgil’s tail was. That’s just what happens when you like reading so many scrolls at once, your tail works out so it can support the weight so you don’t fall to the bottom of the ocean. Logan was lucky he could spend so much time in the library. His family were pearl scavengers, and aside from needing strong arm muscles to open the clams, they did no hard work and were very rich as a bonus. Virgil’s family had been cursed with the job of seahorse trainers. It was fun and all, but they didn’t make nearly enough sand dollars to live comfortably. They only managed to make enough to scrape by. Virgil was so busy thinking about Squirt, a troublesome baby seahorse he had to ocean train, he didn’t see Logan cross the finish reef, followed by Patton, who flew above.

“Come on Virge, get your head in the game!” Logan encourages, “Testing day is coming up.” Virgil shivered. Testing day. The worst day, every year. He passed all the other subjects easy enough, but when it came to gym he was shellless. And the test was all about gym. Virgil groans and he and Logan swim up to the surface, hopping on the rocks where they liked to hang out. Logan hummed as the sun hit his tail, making him feel all warm and cozy; like he felt taking care of his little sister, Coralia.

“Sharks,” Virgil moans, “I’m never going to pass the gym test!”

“Hey, don’t say that.” Logan pats him on the shoulder comfortably.

“And no swearing!” Patton smacks the back of Virgil’s head softly but firmly.

“Oww,” Virgil mutters, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

“You’re gonna do fine.” Logan tells him, “You just need a little bit of practice.”

“Or a lot…” Patton admits. Virgil hides his face in his hands.

“What if I come in last?!” He asks, terrified, “They’ll take me away! No one knows what happens when they take you away! They might kill me!”

“I won’t let that happen!” Logan promises fiercely, grabbing onto Virgil’s hand and squeezing tightly, “We’ll keep practicing! And on testing day, you’ll come in second, right after me.”

“Who was the kid that lost last year?” Patton asks sadly.

“A girl from our class named Deema.” Virgil tells him, “She was pretty quiet, and had a kinda cute pink tail and straight brown hair.”

“She was never seen again. Her parents went to look for her…they never came back…” Logan adds.

“I’m glad I don’t have a testing day. But I wish you didn’t.” Patton tells them, “It seems wrong.”

“Well, unlike fairies, mermaids are pack animals. That’s why we go to schools, and stay with our parents, instead of being born alone in a flower patch. The test is supposed to be a way to get rid of the weakest link.”

“That sounds so horrible!” Patton cries.” Logan and Virgil shrug.

“It’s how we live.” Logan mutters, “But Virgil is not the weak link this year, nor will he be any year!” Logan looks up at the sun, measuring the time. “I have to go take care of Cora.” He sighs. He gives Patton a hug goodbye, then leans over and hugs Virgil. “I won’t let them take you.” He whispers to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek while Patton is not looking. Virgil blushes as he leaps into the water and speeds away.

“Virgil? Are you okay? Your face is red.” Patton says worriedly.

“Must be overheating,” Virgil mutters, jumping into the water and swimming home, letting the cool water slowly wipe the blush off his face.

Today was the day. Logan had worked with Virgil for as long as he could. He hoped he was ready. Logan squeezes Virgil’s hand, then lines up at the starting line for the race. The Test. This would decide who would be taken away. And if Logan knew one thing, he knew Virgil wasn’t going to be that somebody. He was ready. Ready for what he might need to do. Logan wished he could pull Virgil, but that wasn’t allowed. In fact, that was a sure way for Virgil to get picked.

No, Logan couldn’t help Virgil cheat. He glanced over at the merman starting the race. Virgil had to be ready.

He had to.

The merman dropped his arm and everyone shot forward. Swimming for their lives. Logan was easily ahead of everybody. He swam easily through the rocks, at around half-a-mile per minute. But when he sees the finish line coming ahead, a quick glance behind him tells the worst. Only two people were even close to crossing the finish line, and they WEREN’T Virgil. Logan takes a deep breath and shoots down, quickly disguising himself in the reef. He watches as his classmates swim by overhead. They zoom past and into their parent’s arms on the other side of the line. Finally, Logan sees Virgil cross the line, looking sad and dejected. Logan swims back and up, then swims slower than normal as he crosses the line.

Virgil’s mouth drops open as the guards that had grabbed ahold of his arms let go and started to swim over to Logan.

Virgil swims past them and throws his arms around Logan’s neck. He sobs as the two clutches onto each other.

“Why would you do that, you idiot?” Virgil sobs.

“Because I love you.” Logan presses a quick kiss to Virgil’s lips before the two guards grab onto him.

The guards pull Logan away and usher him into a long forgotten sunken wagon, pulled by four dolphins.

“Logan!” Virgil’s moms hold him back as the door to the carriage closes. Logan sadly waves goodbye and the carriage takes off. The dolphins speed away, followed by the guards. “Logan!”

Virgil breaks away from his mom and speeds to the place where he, Logan, and Patton always hung out.

“Patton!” He wails, “Patton where are you!?”

The anxious fairy peeks out from where he had been impatiently waiting for the two to finish.

“Virgil!” Patton yells, “You made it!” He flys over and holds Virgil tight, not wanting to let go, before realizing Logan had not joined them.

“Where’s Logan?” Patton asks, glancing around curiously.

“P-P-Patton, the…the guards they…they took him! He…He lost on purpose for m-me!”