Crimson Comb

Akiko kept her head down in the ladies' hall, but her sharp eyes missed nothing. She handled a three-person puppet on stage, and that habit shaped how she loved people too. She gave way, matched breath, and tried to fit herself into the will of others. That made her useful at court and warm to everyone around her. It also made her easy to use. A borrowed seal box rode inside her sleeve. A wooden comb from a secret gift rested there too. When a prince visited her room in secret, and when a scholar died behind the throne room, Akiko was the one asked to carry the pieces no one else wanted to touch. Her own father treated her like a stain in public. Akiko still kept reading the room, still trie...