Lucy contemplated her appearance in the mirror, thoroughly disappointed by what looked back at her. She saw a petite girl with short, flaming red hair and pale, almost peaky skin. She was skinny and wore a pair of square glasses. Her face had no freckles, which she almost would have welcomed because they would have at least added something to her unremarkable face.
She sighed, closing her eyes in disappointment.
"Lucy, seriously! You're taking forever in there!" The knocking on the door was accompanied by Victoire's voice.
"I'll only be a second longer!" Lucy lied, staring at herself.
There was a long pause, and Lucy knew that her cousin hadn't left yet because she hadn't heard the footsteps. Suddenly the door opened and Victoire stepped into the bathroom before Lucy could stop her.
"What are you doing?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"Finishing up in the bathroom."
Victoire cocked a hip, not believing a word. "Yeah, and Crumple Horned Snorkacks are real." She grabbed Lucy by the shoulders and turned her around to look her over. Her voice was decisive. "You were looking at yourself in the mirror."
Lucy averted her gaze. "Er…"
"You were." Victoire crossed her arms. "You're going through that low self-esteem thing, aren't you?"
"Er…" Lucy was pink now, annoyed and embarrassed that her prettiest cousin would catch her being vulnerable.
"You are." She smiled gently. "Dom went through the same thing. I told her not to sell herself so short, and I'll tell you that, too. Look at yourself. What's so bad about the way you look? What do you want so badly to change?"
Lucy sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, let me see. My skin's too pale, my arms are too skinny, my hair is like a fire on my head, and I have bad eyesight. Want me to go on?" she scowled.
Victoire looked at Lucy through the mirror with an expression that was almost soft. "Your skin is fair, and extremely fetching. You're slim, not skinny. Your hair is a gorgeous shade of red, and your glasses fit your face extremely well. Do you want me to go on?"
Lucy remained silent, knowing it was impossible to win an argument against Victoire.
"That's what I thought." she retorted. "Now hand me that brush."
Lucy did so and Victoire began to brush her cousin's hair. "See, the trick is to not brush it too much, but enough to get a shine." she explained. "And if it looks nice, then there's no reason for you to cover it up with that scarf."
"I think you've got magic fingers, Vicki." Lucy murmured, watching as her red hair seemed to glow more with each brush stroke.
"I don't, Luce—I'm just bringing out your natural beauty." Victoire replied easily. "I know it's not the change you wanted, but I still think it's a good one."
Suddenly, Lucy was struck by a surge of affection for her oldest cousin. She gave her a tight hug. "Thank you."