Branches, Birches and Junipers/Chapter 1

Marlene and her brother were nothing alike. Not in personality, and certainly not in face.

So when they strolled up to the steps of Ever After High, the two siblings looked as different as night and day.

“Remember our time here?” Macintosh mused, eyeing the architecture. “Hardly a inch has changed.”

Mac had looked the same as he did when he went to Ever After – with the same messy mop of red hair, the same uptight nature, and even the same kind of neat clothing. He had become slightly larger in width and dark circles were under his eyes more than ever, but he still remained the more cultured of the Juniper siblings.

“Oh, be quiet,” Marlene said. “We’re not here to reminisce about the past.”

She had since ditched the leather jackets and punk music from her teenage years. She still had the same wavy black hair and large nose, and the same air of nonchalance. But the lady was no longer the boisterous girl she once was. Instead, her mercurial nature had matured into a sharp wit and acerbic sarcasm.

“This place is terrible,” Marlene muttered, sauntering through the corridors, with her brother trying to keep up.

“It's internationally ranked number one.”

“Cool,” Marlene said. “Whatever. The important thing is talking to Grimm, and I’m sure nothing’s changed with that guy since our high school years. And I’m sure he looks the same as well. I bet you ten bucks that he indulges too much in fountains of youths.”

The sibling duo found the office soon enough. Although it had been years since the two went to Ever After, they knew the halls as one would know the tunnels of the London underground. That is to say, Marlene and Mac got lost a fair few times.

Finally, they reached Headmaster Grimm’s office, exchanged a glance at each other, and Marlene grabbed the door handle.

The door swung open and the Junipers walked in.

“Sup,” Marlene said, pushing her glasses up.

Headmaster Milton Grimm sat at his desk, holding a spread-out newspaper between his hands. The headline said something about corruption in the hierarchy of the opposing newspaper brand.

“Please sit down, Ms Juniper,” the Headmaster didn’t even look up from his newspaper. “And that applies to you too, Mr Juniper.”

Mac carefully placed himself down on the leather seat opposite Milton Grimm, but Marlene simply crossed her arms and leaned one shoulder against the nearby wall. She eyed the two with a sharp glower.

Milton Grimm coughed, and repeated, “please sit down, Ms Juniper.”

“Fine,” she finally said in that tone the Headmaster pegged as the tone of the same infuriating girl who never listened to authority.

A sigh escaped the Headmaster. Milton set aside his newspaper, chucking it amongst piles of school reports and confiscated fake essays on the floor behind his desk. He looked at the sibling duo with a quizzical look, knitting his fingers together and placing the joint-fist of a hand on his smooth mahogany desk. “Well, you two couldn’t have called into Ever After High without a reason,” he said. “Are you having concerns about your children’s education? Their destiny, perhaps?”

“Education, yes. Destiny, even more so,” Macintosh injected. “And as we know, one dictates your university and the other dictates your whole life. I’m sure you can guess we’re speaking of the latter.”

“Then please, in that case, elaborate on your problems,” Milton said.

A grin crossed Mac’s face, and the man continued. “Headmaster, how important is the Juniper Tree to you? Surely, with its imagery and its lofty position amongst your popular-obscures, you would want it to be protected as much as say… Snow White, for instance?”

Milton shot a look at the previous Juniper brother, as if to say ‘go on’.

“And you thought our tale, the revelled Juniper Tree, was under threat fifteen or so years ago, didn’t you?”

The Headmaster shook his head in disgust. “Should I remind you that it was only under threat because of you, Juniper?”

“But I fixed it!” Mac almost shot up from his seat. “It was a genius idea: the child of Marlinchen being the new Marlinchen! I saved our tale too. Should you recognise that?”

“If it’s so-called ‘fixed’, then why are there suddenly new concerns surrounding your destiny?”

Mac’s grin widened. He envisioned himself looking more heroic from that grin, but in reality he looked conceited. “Because I remarried,” he said.

“Ten years too late,” Marlene cut in.

Mac waved a dismissive hand. “Sure, but now we have a new stepmother! And she has a daughter! Headmaster, please, hear me out on this. You won’t have Marlinchen’s son substitute in for Marlinchen anymore, our family can finally follow tradition again: the daughter of the brother’s second wife taking over as Marlinchen.”

Milton Grimm looked at the Juniper, considering his words. It seemed like so much trouble to change the Juniper legacies ''again. ''And these Junipers were probably the most irksome of all during their time at Ever After High. As much as Grimm wanted more coherency in this generation of fairytales, granting these kids this request seemed tolerable at the most.

In the end, destiny was what mattered, and not his personal vendetta against the irritating trees.

Putting on his friendliest and fakest smile, Milton spoke. “Needless to say, this is a tempting opportunity,” the Headmaster stroked his chin with a hand. “I would have to discuss this with my brother, and of course, there’s always paperwork. Both your sons have signed. I’m unsure if the Storybook can be re-signed by another.”

“A fake storybook,” Marlene simpered.

“Nevertheless a storybook. It had served a whole generation of legacies well,” Grimm pointed out. “Meanwhile, it might be handy for you two to break the news to your children, first. Open them up to the possibility of a more accurate tale switch.”