*Discontinued* Nightingale

33

"Chosen Mates..." Glinda was writing away on the board as Virgil sat there in his desk in thought. he couldn't get over Roman's attacks. He doesn't have them much anymore but there seemed to be a single topic that sent him under so fast... he's never even aware of what the topic was. "For us Fae, a mate is chosen partner who we decide to create a bond with for our life. It's a choice you can only make once and therefore is highly important and should not be taken lightly." 

That night Virgil had to take Roman home after pizza had been one of the WORST attacks Roman had ever had. Virgil literally could not leave the prince alone for even a second without the poor fairy spiraling back under. And should Roman or Virgil have had to use the restroom well... neither cared much about the other seeing anything but Roman seemed to handle being ok with Virgil or him just outside the door. Any further though and he risked an attack again. It was like Roman was deathly afraid of abandonment and considering what he's known of Roman so far... he wouldn't be surprised at all if that's what it was.

"Choosing a mate, although an extremely intensive choice, is no easier an action than deciding what cereal you'd want in the morning." Virgil was brought back to the lesson, hearing how the class started to laugh. Glinda was still writing on the board but Virgil finally realized just what the lesson was about, having been too distracted to notice at all. "It's not so much a ritual as it is a bond. There is no rite. There is no expensive pageantry. When you choose a mate... you are simply bonding you two together through magic via your emotions."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Good?" A little girl named Emily raised her hand up catching the teacher's eyes as she smiled with confusion. "If there is no physical action to chose a mate then... how do you know you've done so?"

"Ah, yes... I see what you mean." Glinda giggled before giving a soft sigh. "Choosing a mate is all emotion and mental. It's a mental desition... a NEED to create that bond. Just as all magic spells are... Not having that physical action such as with a human proposing with the ring and question... I can understand the confusion. The thing is when a fairy chooses a mate they create a bond that so strong they can feel that connection. It's never-ending... a permanent feeling that is always there. They will always be able to feel that connection they have as if... their magic is literally one in the same. A mated pair will have the sort of relationship... you'd imagine soulmates would possess. A need to love, protect, and care for each other. It'll be an instinctual thing to just be near each other. A mated pairs love... is pure instinct and natural." Virgil frowned seeing the way Glinda's eyes darkened as she looked around the room. "Having a mate is like... finding the person who will never fail in making you smile even when the world with crashing down on you. It's the best part of love but... as I've said before it's a once in a lifetime choice. You only get to chose a mate once." This time it was Virgil who spoke.

"And what happens if you lose them?" Virgil wasn't entirely sure where the question had come from but... the look in the teacher's eyes when he had asked made everything turn to ice.

"It's pure agony." Glinda sighed as she turned back to the board. "Now I'm not trying to frighten you away from ever finding that special someone. Everyone deserves happiness with someone who loves them dearly. But as you're teacher, I would be remiss if I taught about mates and did not teach about it all." Glinda put several bulletins up on the board before snapping the marker cap and stepping back with a very sad look so they all could see. "When a mated pair is separated, it's pure agony. The remaining fae is left to suffer... Any and all memories just make it worse. There are ways to live and survive through the loss as despite the pain... it's not the end but... Those who have been unfortunate to experience losing a mate have explained it as if a part of them died. One even described it like..." Glinda tensed not really wanting to say it to scare the kids but she knew it was more important to know this than to go about blind to it all. "They said it was like a permanent feeling of iron in the blood."

 Virgil just froze there, his blood turning to ice as he read the bulletins. He felt like he couldn't breathe. His mind went to Roman and... everything just hurt. Everything Glinda was saying sounded far too similar to what Roman goes through on a regular basis. For the first time ever, Virgil wondered if... Roman would ever actually be his.

If this IS what Roman is going through, that meant Roman had chosen and lost his mate. That meant Roman already found someone he wanted to spend forever with as Fairy lives are practically immortal. If that is true then according to Glinda, Roman couldn't just choose again. And Virgil would NEVER EVER think that Roman didn't actually love him. Virgil knew for a fact that Roman cared deeply for him. His anxiety couldn't get him to doubt that for a second let alone make him genuinely scared about his feelings. No. Virgil wasn't scared that Roman didn't love him. Virgil was scared that... it would never matter in the end. 

How could a powerless unimportant changling, with no memories of fairyland, and no experience of anything outside his village ever hope to compare to the love THE PRINCE himself had for his chosen mate to whom he had lost?

Virgil just couldn't see how their love would ever hold a candle to Roman's love for his mate, if he had indeed chosen one. 

For the first time since learning about it all... Virgil actually felt unimportant. That when it came to Roman's Nightingale, who Virgil didn't even have to think twice about when trying to think about who it might have been, Virgil just didn't match. Yes, Roman loves him. It was obvious that Roman loves him. The man had a panic attack over the idea of losing him. Virgil KNOWS Roman loves him. But if Roman chose a mate... and that mate was his nightingale... then if given the chance...

Roman would choose him over Virgil and that was just as clear as the pain the prince is when whenever mates are even brought up.

Virgil just had to know. He had to ask him, even if he knew Roman would get hurt in the end. He had to know for a fact if there was even a point to this. He loved Roman more than anything, but the idea of Roman having a mate already... it broke Virgil's heart. The pain that burned in his chest at the thought... the tears that fell from his eyes as his throat scratched up... He was in agony just thinking about it. He had to know.

He'd ask him after class.