𝓦𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝓘𝙩 𝓑𝙪𝙧𝙣, 𝗔𝗡 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗖

𝓒𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝓔𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩

A/N: Play Movies by Conan Gray while reading this chapter, his music is so good omfg

Professor Camille Red's POV

Camille sipped on her Hocus Latte, glancing up from her laptop to see some of her students before—Apple, Raven, Vanya, and Holton. She nearly dropped her latte, startled. "You four gave me a fright! Grimm's sake..." She set down her latte and pushed up her red-rimmed glasses.

"Sorry, Professor Red, we didn't mean to startle you. But could you sign these permission forms?" Apple thrust a bundle of papers in Camille's hands, giving a strained smile. What in the world...? Camille shuffled the papers, raising her eyebrows. Raven was smiling nervously, Vanya gave an awkward thumbs-up, while Holton was just bored (probably forced to be there).

Camille read some of the papers, suspiciously finding overly flowery language and tons of loopholes that needed to be double checked. "And what are these permission forms for?" she asked simply, resting her elbows on her desk. These kids really take me for a fool. She'd be offended if she wasn't impressed.

Vanya smiled awkwardly. "Uh, for a student-supervised field trip! Field trips, technically."

"Totally safe though!" Raven added.

"Uh-huh." Camille skimmed some of the paragraphs, eyeing her students. This reminds me of my teenage years, she thought amusingly. Perhaps she would entertain her students a bit. "Well, what are these field trips about?"

"Just travelling to neighboring villages, you know? Got to get those photos for this year's Legacy Orchard," Apple nodded rapidly. "It's going to be supervised by us Royals, and we're very dependent."

"Of course, it's the Royals," Holton muttered and Vanya elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!"

"That did not hurt at all," she deadpanned.

"I'm sorry, I don't think your name is Holton Hook," he shot back. Vanya and Holton huffed at each other, crossing their arms and looking away. Camille smiled to herself—she knew that story all too well, and how it ended too. "Look, Professor Red, we need you to sign off on these forms. It's something really important," he explained, "I know it looks bad, but this is critical."

"And this is safe?" she inquired and everyone nodded their heads. Let's hope this won't be a decision I regret, Camille thought as she signed each form with a fountain pen. "I am trusting that this is nothing that Headmaster Grimm wouldn't approve of," she said strictly.

"Grimm doesn't approve of anything," Holton said and Camille stifled a laugh. He's your employer, her mind reminded her. He'll fire your ass if you disrespect him.

"Holton, seriously, cut it out," Vanya answered as the group started to head towards the door. Holton was laughing while Vanya seemed audibly frustrated. Camille couldn't help but smile again. What it feels to be a teenager again... After that strange encounter, Camille reached for her phone, dialling a number, the contact picking up almost immediately.

"Good morning," she greeted. There was some shuffling in the background, which suggested Arthur had risen from his favourite chair and went to the kitchen to get himself some porridge. Arthur Osborn was the next Baby Bear, he claimed everything in the household needed to be "just right."

"Morning, Millie," he yawned.

"You fell asleep on the chair again." It wasn't a question. "Never mind that, how's my garden? Did you water the roses?" Camille was teasing him now, Arthur was far too forgetful to remember if he was keeping her garden back home alive.

"It's... well, I mean, your garden isn't dead yet," Arthur answered. Camille's eyes softened and she smiled a bit. While so focused on her career and actually getting hired by Milton Grimm, she had nearly forgotten who had inspired her to go into the education field in the first place. They used to attend Ever After High together, it was unlikely parting—a grumpy Roybel and an overly sunshine Royal. But they found that they balanced each other out, eventually leading to Camille becoming a Roybel. It's because of you that I'm still here standing, she thought.