AN: Wow, this one's old! I can't believe I even found this. This was an old fic I had removed. I can't remember why, as I was really happy with it and having found it now, I decided to re-post it. I did give it a few tweaks, though, just for editing's sake.

You can probably tell by now that this is about Ann and her insecurities, even years after the realms. Hope you enjoy and reviews are love!

The Mirror

I look in the mirror and I don't like what I see.

My nose is funny, slightly crooked. My thin hair is such dull shade of brown that I have to hide it in either a wig on stage or a bun off-stage. My cheeks look like pasty white apples, only they don't turn into such a lovely shade of red. My eyes are a nice seaside blue, but they look strange. They're small and look slightly lazy as if they're never really awake. I caress my uneven lips and try to smile, but then the smile grows too wide for it to look as pretty as I want it to. I don't look my age; I look like a child. When I undress myself, I'm almost ashamed to look at my body in the mirror. I try to hide how fat I look, but I know it's useless.

I wish my hair were a luxurious set of ebony curls and my face a proper oval shape with sweet red lips, snow white skin. I wish I were beautiful.

But I'm not beautiful. I'm ugly…so very ugly.

"I hate you," I say solemnly to my reflection.

I continue to look at my pear-like shape and blink. When I open my eyes, there are arms around that shape, caressing its roundness and I his smiling face leaning on my shoulder.

"That's a bit harsh," he says to me. "What did that mirror ever do to you?"

He makes me smile weakly and I look at him through the mirror. I envy him for still managing to look as sweet as he does in his reflection.

"I think this mirror is cursed," I tell him.

"And what makes you say that?"

"I look fat!"

But he only chuckles in my ear: "Shut up."

He kisses my cheek, neck and shoulder. He makes me smile again, only this time, when I look at that smile, it's not as funny-looking as it looked before. I grow accustomed to it and then show a gentler smile to myself. My eyes start to shine. My cheeks are red and my skin looks like cream with strawberries. The flaming sunrise shines through the window and it makes my hair look like an antique gold rather than the dull mousy brown it used to be.

He then takes my hands in his and helps me to cradle his growing child. I look at the three of us in the mirror and smile even more brightly than the rising sun before us.

"You've never looked more beautiful, Annie," Charlie tells me with a kiss and I believe him.