The Third Reader - The School for Good and Evil

4) Hobgoblins

A/N: Hi! I made an Evelynn board on Pinterest which has some future hints and stuff @eviesmallwood if you're interested :)

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Yuba explained that the lesson was intended to prepare students for the 'Trial by Tale', a competition in which all students would compete in the blue forest, and the winner would surely be class captain and have a fairy tale of their own someday. 

"Now there are 5 rules separating Good from Evil," Evelynn immediately grew more intrigued as the students stood in a circle around the gnome, wondering yet again why she was even at the school in the first place,

"1.The evil attack. The good defend.

2.The evil punish. The good forgive.

3.The evil hurt. The good help.

4.The evil take. The good give.

5.The evil hate. The good love.

You must obey these rules if you want to survive your fairy tale, it's the only way things should be, and it's not going to change anytime soon."

Evelynn stared at the navy grass below, her mind flicking over the rules, she would eventually see whether she was good or bad.

"But you must learn to recognise good and evil," Yuba continued, "Appearances are often deceiving..."

Evelynn's eyes wandered straight to Tedros and his judgement of the three readers, he was staring right back at her, obviously having the same thought.

She quickly diverted her gaze.

"...no matter how well each side is disguised, you can always tell them apart. You must look closely and remember the rules."

Evelynn noticed Sophie and Tedros whispering to each other across the circle, he reached out to touch her black tunic as Evelynn felt her stomach squirm.

Two students were chosen from each side and turned into a random animal or creature, then someone else was chosen to identify whichever was on their side.

Evelynn was zoning out when most of the students had been, bored of the fanatics. Yuba noticed.

"You there, if you can't even pay attention I suggest you give this a try."

No one spoke, watching the outcast standing on her own.

"Yes um...sorry sir."

"What's your name?" The gnome quizzed.

"Lynn."

"Well Lynn, come here then. I won't bite," Yuba pointed at the never girl from before with the demon tattoo. "You too Hester."

Hester walked over confidently, and Evelynn followed, a bit worried about how her new challenge would turn out. She glanced at Sophie and Agatha with frantic eyes, but they didn't move an inch.

Yuba made all of the students turn around before he made them into whatever he had planned, he hadn't done that with the others.

Before Evelynn could think twice she felt herself shrinking and shrinking, until she was a small white mouse. Anadil's rats hissed at her from the witch's feet, now much bigger than before. Hester the mouse didn't act evil at all, standing as normally as a rodent could. Evelynn was rigid and confused, so turned out to stand rather strangely.

"Dot," Yuba snapped, "which one is evil, and which is good."

The students had turned around again, and they were all examining the little mice on the navy grass. Everyone was playing the game this time.