A small troll stands in her bedroom, in front of a mirror.
She was only about 5 sweeps old, but she stood with a certain grace. Her usual smile was gone as she leaned closer.
Her freckled face was there. Her horns. Her headdress. Her yellow eyes, the pupil tinted a very slight fuschia.
Her gaze travels down. Though she is quite small and skinny, she looked fat whenever she bent down a little. She could grab the skin in her hands. Everyone in the world frowned upon being fat. As if it were a curse.
She sighs.
Then suddenly she is somewhere else. A world, white and off-center. A wall stands before her, like the side of a giant ship. A figure rises at the top.
A great laugh fills the air as it jumps down. A huge troll, thrice the size of Feferi, lands next to her. Her hair alone is the same size as the troll itself. She is covered in fuschia accents, and has horns the same shape as Feferi.
A jagged smile breaks out upon the Empress's lips. "Look at me. I am the most powerful being in the multiverses. My blood is the most lavish colour, my horns the size of small trolls." Her voice echoes in the space. "I am feared and revered. Trolls and aliens cower before me. I am loved by trollkind. Trolls throw themselves at my feet. I get timid proposals from trolls that are among the highest ranks."
Feferi listens intently to her ancestor, drinking in every word.
"And you know what? Look at me. I am not entirely thin. I'm not a twig. I don't have straight hair or teeth. My skin has blemishes and freckles. I got acne in my young years. I have scars. And you know what? Even whenever you're thin, you still have skin. That's what you have now. Even whenever you grow, you don't have to be perfect. Your looks don't define your value. You do."
With her last words fading, the vision also disappears. Feferi is back in her room, with a newfound sense of being. She'd seen pictures of her ancestor before.
And maybe perfection wasn't that important.