Rose Tinted Reality - A Succession Story

A Fine White Line between Misery and Ecstasy

"Remind me again why I'm not allowed to go with?"

Piper clicks the back of her earring into place, taking a step back from the mirror to glance over her appearance while she mulls over Juniper's request. Today hj she's tried a new style, a high-flying ponytail that was secured with a golden band, each strand of hair slicked back against her head in order to show off the soft features of her face. Her large eyes. Rounded cheeks. The cupid's bow of her lips. Everything is on display, emboldened by dark eye makeup and a deep red stain on her lips.

"It's an adult-only party," she says, glancing at her sister with a withered expression, feeling a familiar sense of guilt. First, she spends Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Roys, even if they had their own Christmas celebration at home afterward, and now she gets to spend New Year's with Daphne. However, Piper had her suspicions that Juniper didn't mind spending time with the new nanny.

"Should you really be going then?" Juniper jests as she weasels her way between Piper and the mirror, and Piper finds herself staring. Absent-mindedly, she starts to part her sister's hair, her fingers knowing the way through the labyrinth of coils as she gathers the hair into two large rounded pigtails, which she fastens into place with a scrunchie that's lying nearby.

"I don't like wearing my hair like this anymore," Juniper says, though her words lack the bitterness that had been plaguing the two sisters since Juniper moved in. "I actually was thinking about cutting it."

"Cutting it?" Piper says, unable to hide the shock in her voice. "Why?"

Juniper shrugs, hands exploring her own mass of hair with a frown. "I don't know. I just think shorter hair might suit me better. Oh, or I can get locs, what do you think about that?"

"Alright," Piper says softly, hands falling from her sister's hair to rest on their shoulder. She rests her chin on the top of her sister's head, right between the two pigtails, and closes her eyes with a sigh. She can feel Juniper's small hands gripping her wrists tightly and feels a pang that's become all too familiar since she developed a habit of leaving. "You can do whatever you want with your hair, just let me know so I can help, okay? We can find you a stylist."

"What about that one that Mom used to take us to?" Juniper asks.

"Is that really where you want to go? I can take you somewhere better now," Piper responds softly.

"No, I want to go there. And then you can tip them a lot," Juniper suggests, and Piper smiles, biting her lip as she tries to hide the growing grin.

"Are you redistributing the wealth, Junebug?" Piper says, her fingers finding Juniper's ribs and tickling her. She squeals in surprise, ripping herself free of her sister's grasp with a laugh.

"Yeah! You should be too," she retorts, playful, yet defensive. Piper rolls her eyes, folding her arms across her chest.

"I do!" she says, unable to keep the indignation out of her voice. "I tip well, I go to small businesses or whatever. I haven't forgotten where I came from, and trust me, I've been trying," she says, glancing away as a familiar uneasiness sweeps through her, leaving her unsteady.

"You know, where you came from isn't some horrible place. I'm from there, too," Juniper says as her laughter fades, leaving behind a girl with soft brown eyes, but a face carved from stone. Piper can't help but feel guilty since no little girl should have such a weathered expression. It's the face of a child who knows life a little too well to be enjoying her girlhood.

"Yeah, and it hasn't done you any favors, either," Piper says, and she quickly changes the subject before Juniper can intervene. "Hey, before I leave, what do you want to eat? I'll make something for you and Daphne to feast on tonight while I'm out," she says, ushering Juniper out of the bathroom.