Thursday came sooner than they were ready. None of them had acknowledged the existence of the Philosophy class, but they all knew that none of them were looking forward to it. Doug had described it as, "a study and exploration of knowledge, rationality, right and wrong, virtues, values, and even existence."

A class to test them. A trap to catch them and ship them back to the Isle. She traced the curse wrapped around her wrist. The moment they returned to the Isle, Maleficent would kill them. If the curse didn't do it then she'd just kill them the old-fashioned way. Both methods would be slow and painful.

They could not fail this class.

Beside her, Carlos fidgeted with a coin, rolling it back and forth along his knuckles or just rubbing his thumb along the surface.

With a soft smile, she rested a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get through this," she soothed. They would get through it. Whether or not it went well, they'd get through it. She highly doubted that it would be okay.

All she got in reply was a quick glance before Carlos locked his eyes on his desk again. In front of them, Mal slouched in her chair. Physically she looked relaxed and calm. But her eyes roamed around the room, watching their classmates, finding the best escape routes. Jay mirrored her, posture bored and calm, but dangerous enough to scare everyone away from the desks closest to their pack.

Without warning, Mal went rigid. Subtly, Evie followed her gaze.

And her stomach churned.

Audrey. Princess Audrey glided into the room with the grace her mother had tried to teach her and Eviehad never gotten fully right. Only the faintest hints of makeup enhanced her features better than Evie could do with more. A natural beauty that didn't need makeup.

Pulling her mirror from her pocket, Evie checked her appearance. Nothing was out of place. The lines of her lipstick were sharp and neat. Her eyeliner was symmetrical and even. No sign of mascara clumping her lashes together. Perfect.

But not perfect. And she'd reached her peak in her application skills. There was nothing more she could do to make it better. Maybe she could find some better product than what she brought from the island? The makeup here would be better. If she could get her hands on some, maybe she could close the gap between her beauty and Audrey's.

Fingers brushed her wrist and she blinked. Carlos frowned at her and she gave him her best smile. "We want to make a good impression," she said. "Our appearances are important."

For a long moment he considered her before he finally accepted her words and settled back in his chair.

Only a few minutes later, their professor arrived. He was tall and slim with a boring brown jacket and pants with a black shirt. If he cared that little about his appearance, he wouldn't care how they presented themselves. Which meant the only way to impress him, or at the very least pass the class, was to have the right answers. She watched him closely as he crossed the floor to the lectern, pulled some papers out of his bag, shuffled them for a moment, before setting them down.

His eyes were sharp,features stern as he surveyed the classroom and the students in it. Keeping most of her attention on him, Evie followed his gaze. Most of the other students were still chatting, either not aware the professor had arrived or not caring. The way his focus lingered on her pack's section of the room made something curdle in her stomach. Gods willing he wouldn't target them too much. After a moment, he rapped his knuckles against the lectern, silencing the room and startling a few students. No one in her pack flinched.

"I am Professor August Maguire. You may call me Professor Maguire."

Carlos made a face as he rolled the coin along his knuckles. Evie was inclined to agree with that assessment. This man was as arrogant as Audrey and she doubted that he had any noble blood.

"You are all aware of what this class is, so we'll begin this semester with a question that I would like all of you to answer," he said. Picking up a piece of chalk, he continued to speak as he wrote. "Do acts of kindness have a motive?"

Was…was he serious? It was only the first class and already their worst fear was confirmed. There were, of course, much worse questions that could have been asked, but it was clear that he shared Audrey's biases. He was attempting a subtle first strike to separate them from the rest of the class.

A strange green movement caught her attention. Glancing at Mal, Evie blinked. Sparks, as green as her eyes, flickered around her fingertips. Beside Mal, Jay shifted, bumping his knee against Mal's leg. Their leader shot him a look then followed his glance towards her fingers. Something in her expression shifted and Evie exchanged looks with Carlos. That wasn't the first time Mal had let loose sparks since arriving in Auradon, but Evie was starting to suspect that they were as surprising to Mal as they were to the rest of the pack. Mal never wasted magic. It took so long for her to build enough to attack or create a shield that using it for small things like expressing anger could be the difference between life and death.

"The very nature of kindness doesn't allow for motives," Audrey said from where she sat near the front of the class. "Doing things for others with a motive is simply being nice or polite."

"I agree," a boy with dark ebony hair said. "Having a motive is selfish and that changes the very nature of the action. Intention is what separates kindness from other actions."

Evie tilted her head, tapping a nail against her journal. The only actions that didn't have clear motivations were ones done on instinct. Like when Jay immediately tried to sweep the legs of an opponent out from under them if he ever hit the ground. It wasn't something he thought about. It was a trained reaction. So perhaps maybe there was a type of motivation there because the training had been done for a reason. Whether or not instinct could be called motivation didn't matter in this context though.

"Ms. Mal, what is your view on the matter?" Professor Maguire asked, gaze locking on the four of them.

"Of course, there's going to be a motive," Mal said with a shrug. "Everything we do has a motive behind it."

"So you do not believe that people are capable of helping others without expecting something in return?" Professor Maguire pressed.

"Everyone wants something from others."

"Things must be different on the Isle," Audrey spoke up with a sickly smile that was too sweet. "But here on the mainlands, people help one another for the sake of helping one another."

"Isn't that still a motive?" Carlos said quietly before flinching when everyone looked at him. Evie resisted the urge to touch his shoulder. Such an action would only confirm for the rest of the class that he was the most emotionally vulnerable.

"Do explain." The professor's voice was tight and Carlos paled. But he wouldn't refuse such an obvious order. One of his trained instincts.

"Motivation is why-why people do things. Wanting to-to help someone is still wanting…still wanting something."

It made sense. Helping others because you want to help others is a motivation in and of itself. A "good" motivation compared to alternative reasons, but still a motivation. Kindness couldn't be separated from intent. They were tied together like all other decisions.

"Then let me ask this," Professor Maguire began. "Can kindness be motivated by evil intentions?"

"Well, yeah," Jay frowned. "Trick someone into thinking you're safe or want to help them and you lower their guard. Makes them an easy target for whatever you want."

A lesson every child on the Isle learned quickly. Or they broke beyond repair and they either never managed to find a pack because they were too paranoid or they were brainwashed by the person who tricked them. It was something Lady Tremaine did to staff the whore houses. She gave them shelter, protection, food, but they had no control over what was done to them.

"That isn't real kindness," a different girl protested.

"Kindness is helping someone and acting considerate right? So it's only about how you act, not what your reasons are," Mal retorted. "So anyone can be 'kind' but not have 'kind' intentions."

"That isn't true kindness," the first boy protested. "That's manipulation. True kindness isn't tainted by impure intentions."

There was another definition of kindness? That was…interesting. She was tempted to ask what the difference was, but that would move a target to her and for now Mal and Jay were the ones more suited to the task. She didn't miss the way Carlos's brow furrowed as he wrestled with what she suspected was the same question, and Mal's head tilted while Jay stilled.

A few other comments were made before Professor Maguire ended the discussion by thanking everyone for participating and began lecturing about the nature of kindness and what some famous, long dead people had said on the matter. Distantly, Evie noted that not all of them actually had participated; he'd only really been interested in the four of them and thankfully he'd overlooked her. Princesses weren't supposed to be smart enough to make clear arguments in a debate like that; Audrey was proof. Another way Evie was inferior to the Ulsted princess.

The rest of class continued in the background with the professor lecturing. Evie took notes automatically as she tried to silence her thoughts. Just like a real princess would.