***Author's note: Thanks for waiting! I'm currently in the process of moving and wanted to make sure this chapter was given the proper attention and editing before posting. :) ****

Mal watched as the others left for the stables to meet the animals Carlos was working with while she had to go to class. With the University forcing her to take Magic Basics, she had one more class than they did. Which meant that on Fridays the others could relax after lunch like they all could on Wednesdays. And she got stuck in a classroom.

Grabbing her bag, Mal stalked towards the Ancient History room. If the class didn't teach her anything important about the damn barrier, she was going to burn the building down. Just a little arson to let out some stress.

As she entered the room, only a few glanced her way and she relaxed just a little. Thank the gods. If the number of students already there and the number of them following her in meant anything, this would be her smallest class yet. A nice break from constantly being watched. Of course, it probably meant the teacher would pay more attention to all of them, which sucked. Especially if this class was boring as fuck like the stupid remedial classes. And since it was such a small class, Mal was willing to bet everyone was a teacher's pet and actually liked class. So it would probably be a boring class taught by a boring teacher and full of boring classmates. With a groan, she dropped her head back to glare at the ceiling. Those three owed her for taking this damn class.

Even the classroom kinda pissed her off. Magic basics was held outside so they didn't set anything on fire and the other classrooms had bare walls. Here, the walls were covered with pictures and papers: maps from all over the world, diagrams, drawings, and pictures of ruins, artifacts, and exotic locals. There was even a goldfish in a bowl!

Lip curling, Mal fought the urge to tear them all down. Whoever this professor was, they'd traveled all over the world while she'd been trapped on a tiny fucking island fighting over scraps. Once she conquered this kingdom maybe she'd travel the world. Or, even better, she could burn it all down then explore until she found a more interesting place to build her own. That would show her mother.

The campus bell rang, signaling the beginning of the afternoon's class, pulling Mal from her thoughts. Glancing around, she frowned. Where was the professor? All of the other professors had been there before she'd arrived or had shown up several minutes before class started. There was no one at the front of the room ready to talk for the next four hours about things she begged the gods was relevant to what she needed. There weren't enough people in here to hide her napping and no Evie or Carlos to keep her awake.

Another few minutes passed with still no professor. None of the other students seemed phased, all of them chatting or flipping through a book. A full five minutes after the bell, the door crashed open. Despite herself, Mal leaned forward to get a look at the professor that had done what seemed taboo in this place; arrive late to class.

He was scrawny as hell and he struggled not to drop his wobbling armful of books and papers and scrolls, tripping over his own feet a few times before reaching the desk at the front of the room. Somehow, he managed to get all of it onto the desk with only a couple dropped books. After taking a breath, he turned to face them. Mal arched an eyebrow.

He didn't look like the other professors. All of them had been Auradon standards of snooty and dressed like they were important. This man wore a rumpled shirt under a strange knitted vest and there was chalk dust on his pants and ink on his sleeve.

"Good afternoon, everyone," he smiled, running a hand through his mused hair, knocking his glasses off center. "Sorry I'm late. I was enthralled by a fascinating book about El Dorado and lost track of time. Did you know they performed blood sacrifices to their gods for blessings on important astrological dates and to appease the rain god?"

That confirmed some of her suspicions about what this class would be like. It was taught by one of those people who wanted to learn things for fun. Maybe she should've tried harder to convince Carlos to take the class. But then again, blood sacrifices? That sounded like magic. Not exactly the magic she needed, but maybe they would get there later.

"Ahh, pardon me, my name is Milo Thatch. I'll be your professor for the semester. Together we will explore dark ruins, forgotten caves, and faraway places." he said as he dashed around the room, pointing out different pictures, eyes bright like Evie's when she got excited about a project.

"All without leaving the safety of the classroom, of course." Several students groaned and Milo chuckled with a goofy smile. "Yes I know, I've been studying history and ancient civilizations for my entire life, but there is nothing quite like going and seeing the places where that history actually happened. Then again I am a bit of a history nerd."

Several of the students laughed and his smile widened. Mal filed the new term away for later use.

"There's a lot we can learn from the past that can help us in the present and in the future," he continued, lighting up the way Evie did whenever she talked about a new design. "And hopefully, if nothing else, you all will learn to look at things a little differently." Selecting a piece of chalk, he moved to stand next to the board. "What ancient civilizations have you heard of?"

"Rome!"

"Greece!"

"Slenphiahe!"

He wrote each answer down, nodding as they went. After a few more, he put the chalk down and moved to sit on the desk. As if it was perfectly normal. No one else reacted, but Mal stared at him. Who was he? Why was he so different from all the other adults? Would that be a problem in the future?

"These are excellent examples of well-known civilizations," he smiled. "And we know a lot about them because of the records that were left behind. Can anyone tell me who created those records?"

"Historians," a girl said after raising her hand.

"And who were the historians? Take Rome for example. Who wrote their history?"

There was a pause and Mal frowned. Was this a trick question? She'd never heard of Rome, but she'd assume that they wrote their own records. Finally, a boy said, "The Romans?"

"Exactly!" Milo nodded. Moving from the desk back to the chalkboard, his movements similar to Carlos whenever he got excited and couldn't sit still, Milo began to write the names of other civilizations. Ablourhiel. Vifdos. Panqeh. When he was finished, he turned to face the class again. "Now, has anyone heard of these civilizations?"

The room was silent. Since Mal only knew Greece of all the ones everyone mentioned, the silence had to mean no one actually knew of the ones Milo had added.

"Why not? Ablourhiel was a neighbor to Slenphiahe for centuries, but only a few people know it even existed," he said, tapping the board next to the names. "Not all histories are equal or even known. The ones that are the most well-known are well-known for a reason. They were the winners. They were the ones that held all of the power. Compared to Slenphiahe, Ablourhiel was just a small country that was constantly fighting off invaders. They weren't important and so their history and culture disappeared. No one deserves to be forgotten, lost, or reduced to nothing but a legend. This is why I study history; to find those stories and share them with the world so there will always be someone who remembers them."

Something about him reminded Mal of Ben, looking for things that'd been forgotten and bringing them into the world. No one could actually be like that. "Kindness" was a trap like Jay said the day before. Head tilting, Mal rested her chin in her hand and studied the professor as he began asking each student their name and, if they wanted, an interesting fact about their own personal histories.

No one could actually be like that. But no one could actually be as awkward and bright and friendly as him either. Like Ben, he'd need to be studied.

"Miss?"

Focusing, Mal found Milo smiling at her. "Mal," she replied.

"Would you like to share anything about your history?"

A test. He wanted to see if she'd back down from who she was. Well, she could test him too. "I'm from the Isle of the Lost. I lived there my entire life. My mother is the Mistress of Evil," she said.

His smile didn't fade and his eyes didn't betray any pity or disgust. Instead, he looked happy. "I'm happy to meet you, Mal. I look forward to hearing your perspectives on some of the lessons I have planned. New points of view are the best way to expand our understanding of our world. It's how we can learn from the past."

"I'll let you know," she shrugged. Yeah. This one needed watching. If nothing else, the class might not be as boring as she thought.