Somehow, their table seemed to be getting more and more crowded. None of them had done anything to actively discourage others from sitting with them, but none of them ever actually invited anyone either. The only thing he could think of was that the people in charge of watching them were way too friendly. And then the friendliest person in the world found them.

"Mal, Evie, I was wondering if you would want to hang out on Sunday?" Rapunzel beamed. If he didn't know better, Jay'd say she could glow. But as far as the girls could tell, the princess wasn't magical. Of course, he still wasn't convinced she was a princess, so for all he knew she did have magic. "I have a couple ideas for my dress that I wanted to go over and I really wanted to talk about art with you, Mal. I'd love to see what you've done. All my paintings are super colorful and stylized and I know yours is going to be super different. An entirely different way of looking at things."

"That'd be wonderful, Rapunzel," Evie agreed before Mal could protest. Other than a slight frown, though, their leader didn't look too annoyed. Maybe Rapunzel really was magic. Having her join them wasn't as exhausting as he'd expected despite her sunny personality…Yeah. He's pretty sure she's magic.

"As long as we don't start comparing world views and morals and all that boring shit," Mal shrugged. "Gods know we get that enough in class."

"Philosophy sounds like fun," Rapunzel said. Flynn arched an eyebrow at her, shaking his head. "You'd get to learn all about how other people see the world and understand it!"

"That is one of the reasons Queen Belle likes to include it as an elective," Doug nodded. "It can bring to light problems we would otherwise be unaware of. There's another benefit as well. If the right questions are asked, a person can learn more about themselves. Challenge their ways of thinking or discover the cause of their beliefs."

"Philosophy is hell and belongs on the Isle. Anyone who teaches it belongs on the Isle," Jay groaned. They'd only left the damn class an hour ago. Class was over. He wasn't going to keep talking about it.

"That bad?" Ben asked, frowning.

"The 'discussions' and their questions are bullshit and learning about the assholes who created it is boring enough to kill someone," Mal informed him.

The prince glanced at Evie who smiled. "We had a class on the ancient philosophers and their different teachings," she explained and Jay rolled his eyes.

"Different torture methods," Jay corrected.

"Hmm. The philosophy of war would be interesting," Lonnie observed and Jay glared at her.

"No. The philosophy of anything should not exist," he argued.

"Perhaps the professor is the problem? Some topics are better with certain professors than others," Doug suggested.

Carlos grimaced and shook his head as he played with Pascal, the chameleon changing color to match different foods. "I don't think that would change anything," he said quietly.

"Gods, can we stop talking about it?" Mal groaned. "We just sat through four hours of that shit."

The table fell silent for a moment and everyone focused on the food. Tonight the kitchens had really stepped up their game with meat. There was chicken and steak and ham and pork and Jay was in love. He'd never known food could taste so good and he was going to enjoy it while he could damnit. Even better, there were chocolate chip cookies. All three of them had grabbed extras for Carlos and he'd immediately tucked them away for later. Except for the two Evie convinced him to eat with dinner.

"How are your classes going?" Evie finally asked Ben with a charming smile and tilt of her head. "You always ask about ours so we never get to hear about yours. What are you majoring in?"

The prince laughed. "Kingdom Management."

Jay stared at him. Was he serious?

"Kingdom. Management," Mal repeated. "You guys have no imagination."

Already bored, Jay rolled his eyes and Lonnie laughed. "Yeah," she said. "His classes are boring as hell."

"His major is boring as hell," Jay replied.

"Maybe, but what he has to do with it is insane. I think he'll be a great king," she shrugged. "Better than his father anyway."

Was she allowed to say that? Beside him, Carlos stilled, attention narrowing in on them.

"What do you mean better than Beast?" Jay asked, leaning forward, curious.

A sharp jab of Carlos's elbow to his ribs told him the youngest didn't approve and when he glanced at the rest of the table, he realized everyone was looking at them. Evie was glaring at him. Mal was watching with an arched eyebrow. Doug was staring in wide-eyed horror. Flynn just looked amused while Rapunzel looked uncertain. Ben was frozen with a bite halfway to his mouth. Everyone's gaze followed his to Ben.

"King Adam was never properly taught how to govern a kingdom. Living as a beast for so long limited his experience with others," Doug said quickly.

The prince winced a little and set his fork down, gaze darting to Flynn. Weird. What did Flynn have to do with this? The former thief just gave a small shrug. For a moment, Ben seemed to mutter something before sighing.

"The kingdom is doing well under my father's rule. But we aren't prospering as much as we could be," Ben said slowly. Hesitating, he ran a hand through his hair, glanced at Flynn again. "I also have some… ideas and beliefs that don't match his and there are people who prefer mine. Like Lonnie and Doug."

"And kids on the Isle deserving a chance is one of those?" Mal asked, head tilting as she watched him.

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "He wasn't happy when I told the Council that I want to help the kids born on the Isle. His thinking is very…black and white."

Carlos chewed his lower lip, frowning. It was similar to something he'd said and Jay was surprised to hear a hero kid echo the idea. Dark brown eyes found Jay's and he shook his head. He had no idea what to make of it either. Carlos's frown deepened.

"So you're trying to learn what he didn't," Evie observed. When Ben nodded, she smiled. "Learning from the past is the only way to improve the future."

Like learning from their parents' mistakes so they could beat the heroes in their place. Find a way to break the barrier so the whole world could pay for the hell they lived through. Mal was thinking the same thing if the way she looked at him meant anything. Auradon would burn… Once they actually found out how to break the damn barrier. And after burning the library.

"Exactly," Ben smiled and Carlos's frown deepened a little.

As Evie redirected the conversation, fluttering her eyelashes at Doug and asking about his classes, Jay nudged Carlos. "Los?" he whispered and Carlos shook his head.

"It's nothing," Carlos whispered back.

With a shrug, Jay focused back on his meal. Who cared what Doug was majoring in anyway.