"The test will consist of four parts tommrow. You will be expected to preform diligently and in a timely manner. Failure to complete the test or prove yourself to be sufficient in the material will result in an automatic fail, and you will no longer be considered to be a Ymbryne unless you retake the test, which you only get one chance under special circumstances. Do I make myself clear Esmeralda?" the woman behind the desk asked, her voice cold and bitter as always.

"Yes Miss Condor." Esmeralda Avocet said quietly, her voice wavering as she slowly shifted her gaze to miss Goose who sat in the chair next to the desk, her arms crossed tightly to her chest.

"I expect to see you both bright and early at dawn on the overlook, prepared and ready to go. Good night." Miss Condor wasted no time concluding her speech, standing up to blow out the candles littered around the office.

"Good night." Miss Goose stood up and left without Esmeralda. Her mind was only on one thing, and it was if her own children had made it to bed on time and we're properly fed.

"Miss Kestrels an idiot, they are probably still awake and being little terrors now that it's past bedtime." Miss Goose mumbled as she left. She hated having to leave her little children in the care of others, esspacially to attend something with Esmeralda. "But this will soon pass" Miss goose smiled a little at the thought. The girl finally had gotten to the end of her training and hopefully retained enough of it.

If she passed it would be a miracle to Miss Goose, but even if she didn't, it didn't affect her in the slightest as Esmeralda would be told to leave.

--

"Good night, Esmeralda." Miss condor repeated with irritation as she blew out the last stationary candle, the only light now coming from the candle melting away in her hand. The 18 year old looked up startled, confused on where the light went. she had been so sucked into her book she didn't even realize it was time to go.

"Leave my office already girl!" Miss Condor snapped, ready to yank the girl up and force her out of the wicker chair, almost toppling it over.

"S-sorry sorry!" Esmeralda quickly grabbed her other worn out book and hurried out, terrified of what Miss Condor would do if she didn't. she hurried down the hall and to her small closet of a bedroom, shutting the door quietly for if she slammed it Miss Warbler nextdoor would most likely give her a lecture in the morning about how it was improper to slam it.

"but she wasn't feeling well two days ago...I doubt she will be at breakfast or the testing grounds." Esme mumbled as she stuck a match to illuminate the 8 feet wide room. Papers and documents remained scattered around the floor in unorganized heaps, some even resting on her unmade bed. Every night for the past two weeks Esmeralda had had her face either in the papers littering the floor. and deep in her books.

Esmeralda barely even remembered to eat most days, but she didn't care. "As long as I am free of being under Miss G's tutelage I'll be alright." She mumbled. Ever sense Miss Stilt had passed, the 2 years had been nothing short of Hell for the young woman. Esmeralda barely knew how to read set her back quite a bit from the other girls as Miss Goose refused to even teach her anything until she taught herself how to read, something Miss Stilt was in the midst of teaching her. Once she learned how to read, it was her writing. Once she polished her wiritng, it was something else. there was no winning with Miss Goose, it was always an automatic failure from the beginning. it was a miracle she even made it through her training without giving up.

"Ow!" the Avocet winced as it burned the top of her index finger on the match that was quickly withering away while lighting a single candle on the rickety windowsill, the rain pelting the window pane above and bringing her back to her current reality. with a single sigh Esmeralda sat down at her tiny lopsided desk, an older less stable one that was left to be demolished from the one room peculiar schoolhouse down the road but was salvaged in the nick of time for her after she complained enough about needing a workspace.

"Chapter 12, loop placement..." She mumbled, her Golden rimmed glasses falling to the tip of her nose as her brown eyes slipping over words, her eyes soon fluttering shut as the rain soothed her to sleep.

--

"Esmeralda!" A sudden icy hand gripped her shoulder painfully causing the young woman to jolt awake from her dreamless sleep, almost toppling the chair over. it took Esmeralda a second to focus as she adjusted her glasses back to her face, her heart in her throat as she glanced up at Miss Goose who stood in her best day dress, her arm crossed firmly in front of her.

"What are you doing?! Everyone is already down on the field waiting for you!" Miss Goose snapped, grabbing Esme up by her arm with a tight grip

"WHAT!?" Esme looked around, her head spinning. she felt dizzy and tired as her eyes landed on her own clock tucked away on her desk.

"6:17?!" she gasped, turning to miss Goose "I-il be down in one moment!" She frantically turned and grabbed her day dress off of the pile of a stack of books sending them topping to the floor. she avoided them narrowly as she rushing behind her changing screen. without another word miss Goose stormed out, already angry before her students test even began.

--

"it's 6:23, Esmeralda. you are 23 minutes tardy." Were the first words the Avocet heard as she ran up the the hill, the person behind the voice coming into view right behind the horizon.

"i-I'm so sorry!' She squeaked, gasping for breath. the girl almost killed herself just trying to get out the door and getting up the hill. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she ran her shaking fingers through her tangled hair. the other two girls stood waiting for the test to begin, two girls Esme had never met before started to whisper to eachother upon her arrival, as did the small gathering or Ymbrynes and Other peculairs who gathered to watch.

"Did they already take the test? Did they pass? they look so prepared" Esme examined the other two girls in her mind, along with their mentors. each girl had an older woman standing behind them, both looking friendly and chipper as they discussed things with their student. "Much different then miss G." she noted. "She's never smiled a day in her life."

"Well are you planning to hold us up any longer? Get in line!" Miss Condor snapped as Miss Goose lightly shoved Esmeralda forward to the other girls, the look in miss Goose's eye told her not to speak another word or she would be doing everyone's chores for a month as punishment.

"Well, now that we seem to be all present" Miss Condor eyed the trio. We will now begin the first portion of your exam. you will each make a 1 minute loop with your assigned watches"

"How is she doing?" Sally Finch asked as she flipped down from one of the tree branches, her blonde hair gently brushing Balenciaga's arm.

"Not as well as I hoped." Balenciaga Wren answered. she's very unsteady on her feet today, and she was late." she noted.

"Her hair is even becoming more fluffed, shes stressing herself out.." Sally said as she climbed down from the tree. "Do you think she will make it? I want to know how she does, but we both have to get back to our loop..." Sally sighed, watching her younger sister take her spot to make her loop. "We should have helped her more, she could've used it." She said feeling guilty. Sally and Balenciaga both told Esmeralda they would both help her study as much as she needed, but thier loop demanded much more of them in the past month than they had imagined, leaving Esmeralda unable to practice more than one day a week with them if they were lucky.

"I wished we could have also, but none of that much matters now...we just got to hope for the best." Balenciaga sighed, standing up "Just hope she does well, or at least decent enough to pass."

For the most part the other sections of the test went well for the Avocet, even if the other girls were a bit more fluid in their loopmaking and memory wiping. the only part where she messed up being on the written exam, having trouble reading a bit of the cursive it was written in causing her to select four wrong answers out of her allowed five she could get wrong.

"For the last part you will each individually turn into a bird, take a flight in a circle around the area, then land back here and transform out. Miss Mary will go first seeing as she was the first out here this morning" Miss Condor concluded, but tacked on a last warning

"This is your final chance to either prove yourself worthy, or give it all up. They say being in bird form clears ones head quite a bit, this is why it is the last part of the exam. If you do not want to complete this test to become an Ymbryne while up in the air, simply fly away and don't come back. It is your final chance to escape this life if you so choose without any strings attached or judgements. This life long duty, it's not for everyone." Miss Condor side glanced Esmeralda who reminded silent, rocking on her heels.

As soon as the declaration was finished, Esmeralda waited, watching as Mary stepped forward, her shiny brown eyes full of confidence as she placed her arms out, ready to give herself a slight running start.

"3, 2, 1, begin." Miss Condor gave her the go ahead. Mary transformed, all that was left being a light brown tartan dress that fluttered in the wind, Miss Jaeger catching it with excitement. "She did it!" She exclaimed to herself as she watched her student fly off. Within 10 minutes the girl had returned from her short flight, landing on her mentors arm with a few chirps as she waited for dress to be thrown down to a small cliff side where the girls could put their clothes back on in privacy. Miss Jaeger threw it down, the brown bird following it.

"your student did very well. She passed, congratulations." Miss Condor for once cracked a smile. "She is now Miss Hoopoe." She declared. As soon as Mary made her way back up the hill she was quickly embraced by Miss Jaeger, being picked up and swung around

"YOU DID IT!" she exclaimed "YOU PASSED! IM SO PROUD OF YOU!". Miss Jaeger was the first, followed by cheers from the other ymrbynes and peculairs who had gathered to watch, glad another Ymbryne had officially made it.

"Alright, settle down Grete" Miss Condor patted Miss Jaeger who dragged the new Miss Hoopoe over to the sidelines continue discussion without interrupting.

"Diane, your turn." Miss Condor started on the next girl. the young African American woman stepped forward, her confidence matching Mary's as waited for her cue.

"3, 2, 1, begin." Miss Condor watched as the girl wasted not time transforming into a tiny green bird, soaring up towards the sky and away from the group. Her mentor Miss Heron watched with a delighted smile as the girl returned within 15 minutes, having a shorter wingspan meant she needed a bit more time to complete the circle.

"Congratulations Miss Diane Bunting." Miss Condor gave her a smile as Diane hugged Miss Heron, practically shouting with joy "You are officially an Ymrbyne as of today."

"I did it Mom!" miss Bunting exclaimed tearfully as she squeezed miss Heron. Esmeralda couldn't help but peak up at the new Ymbryne. "They all look so happy...I wonder if Miss Goose will finally be happy with me?" she wondered, excited at the thought of pleasing someone for once."

"Step forward" Miss Condor was suddenly in front of Esmeralda. The elderly woman had a knack for sneaking up on the younger girls as if they were her prey. The Avocet took a gentle step forward nervously, her head down as she waited her que.

"At my mark you may begin your exam." Miss Condor looked up towards the sky as the sun started to break the horizon on the cool fall morning, it's light sprinkling the trees in golden flecks.

"3"

"I'll be alright." Esmeralda kept her eyes focused on her feet. her left shoe was untied.

"2"

"what if it fail?" Esme looked up at the other girls, noth standing tall with delightful smiles on their faces as they chatted with what Esme presumed to be their mentors. "On second thought I think I know that African American...she's the girl I saved from the lake!" she thought, her eyes soon casting to her own mentor who remained with an unimpressed look creasing her aged face, her eyes cast towards the dark clouds rolling in. "she hates me."

"1"

"I guess if I fail...I can go and just live as a Bird forever...what am I kidding. If I fail? I'm going to fail!" Tears build up in her eyes as she waited for the confirmation to begin

"Stop crying dear." a sudden, sweet voice appeared right next to her, but from Esmeralda's observations no one was speaking, or even near her for that matter

"Wait who said that-"

"begin."

and with a gentle sway, Esmeralda transitioned, flying off into the sky away from her burden of being human.

Esmeralda found herself soaring freely, peacefully on the wind currents that were bringing in dark fluffy clouds. it felt natural, freeing as the cool wind gently filtered through her feathers. "I'm gonna make it!" she chirped delighted.

"I wonder how the water feels..." Esmeralda eyed the rippling lake below, the glassy water reflecting the dark clouds with bits of sun intertwined, causing the water to look like a swirled painting of breathing bright yellows blues and greys.

A Sudden gust of wind brought Esmeralda back. "I'm very far out" she said as she swooped over the coast on the other side of the lake. it had already been ten minutes, and she was quickly tiring. Having not slept properly in weeks catching up to her all at once.

"I just need to get back, and then I won't even need to worry about anything anymore." she chirped as she felt her body becoming heavier, relying more on the wind currents to carry her. "I can go sleep as soon as I get home..."

BANG!

A sudden loud noise and a burning on her right wing caused the Avocet to loose her ability to fly, the world spinning in a rapid, sickening carousel until she found herself staring up at the elegant sky, her eyes slipping shut as her human body laid motionless on the rocks below.