Sniffles and quiet glubs came from the holding cell of the royal blooded heiress. Tyrian tears slipped down her face as she imagined what the Empress had in store for her. She had been captured after sweeps of hiding and now waited for her impending culling. Heels clicked down the slim walkway as Her Imperious Condescension approached her heiress then stopped in front of the cell. The older troll observed her descendant, noting the girl's features. Long, dark hair, faint pink speckles on her tear stained cheeks, a slender build that looked as if the Heiress could shatter any second, and the sobs racking through her body helped that theory along.

"You look pathetic." The Empress stated as the small girl looked up.

"W-what?"

"You. Look. Pathetic. That's no state for an Empress to be in. Do you even want to be Empress?" She sneered condescendingly.

"Of course I do!" Feferi defended, her head shooting up from her hands, her eyebrows furrowing as she glared.

"Then learn how to act like one."

Feferi's glare faltered as she looked down again, ashamed. The Condesce reached through the bars and lifted her heiress's head.

" As Empress, when you weep so do your people. You will have to be their strength and their power." The bars parted as the Empress stepped inside and knelt beside her heiress, pushing the stray hair out of the younger troll's face.

"How would you know?" The Heiress questioned , shying away from her ancestor's touch. "Your people hate you." The Condesce let out a sigh.

"Because, they're not my people. My people died sweeps ago, they're yours now."

"I'm afraid I don't understand…."

"Sweeps and sweeps ago, I was just a young heiress who wanted to change my world, not unlike you. My world was weak and lacked structure, we were in chaos. The Empress at that time was doing nothing for the world, she was just holed up in her palace while everyfin fell apart. However, with my supporters surrounding me, I took the crown and culled Her Imperial Benevolence." The Empress smiled, "I brought structure to Alternia, everyfin had it's place, my people were happy, and I made our world strong."

"What happened?" Feferi asked, now used to the Empress's long fingers running gently through her hair. The Empress's face fell.

"I began to notice that my original supporters were aging, some of the lower castes began dying and before long …my matesprit died as well. After his death I began focusing on military conquest, not on the people. I did this until even the descendants of my original supporters were dead and I hadn't aged at all. I was still young, still beautiful. I couldn't find it in my blood-pusher to care, but as consequence Gly'bgolyb went unfed, let out a whisper and more than half of the population was killed because of my negligence. I then abandoned my military campaigns and dedicated sweeps more to repopulating Alternia and found a solution with the drones. More sweeps passed and I just continued ruling alone, with everyone that I loved, dead. It was getting boring until a jade blood decided to be interesting and raise a mutant grub. I believe you know the story from there."

"You want me to be Empress?"

"You need to be Empress."

"But you've culled so many otter heiresses before me!" The young troll protested.

"They've heard the same thing you have, however your blood is the purest blood that has existed in millions of sweeps." Feferi's hands clenched within the confines of her shackles.

"What if I don't want to rule?" The Heiress challenged as Her Imperious Condescension smirked.

"But you do want to rule. You want the power that comes with it."

"No I don't."

"Spoiler alert though, everyone you love will die before you."

"No they won't." She whispered.

"And you'll be alone."

"Stop."

"They'll all abandon you."

"Please stop…." She begged as her tears were threatening to overflow to her cheeks.

"And soon you'll find out that even your own subjects hate you."

"Stop it!" But the Empress didn't stop, she intensed her sneer and her condescending glare as her voice rose.

"And then, when death befalls the love of your life, you will discover that not even all the power in all the world can sav-"

"I said STOP!" Feferi yelled, wrapping her chains around the Condesce's neck, pulling them tight as the Empress struggled and flailed about.

"them…." The batterwitch rasped with her last breaths as she went limp in the shackle's hold. Feferi's eyes widened as she released her ancestor's body and it fell to the floor of the cell. The cell walls now bent to her will and her chains fell to the floor. The new Empress walked out of the hold and onto the deck.

"Take me home."