Chapter 58

"Watch how it works," Azuki told Princess Renko, demonstrating how the handloom operated. Her hands slowly shifted the shuttle carrying the weft threads from one side of the loom to the other. The weft ran between the long warp threads. Since they were separated by the heddles at the top of the loom, the weft thread ran over and under the warp. Then Azuki switched the heddles at the top to separate the long warp threads in the opposite direction, capturing the weft to build the fabric. She slid the shuttle back across, smiling, to show the Princess how the fabric was created.

"Oh, yes," the Princess said, nodding her delight. Renko liked this. She liked to see how things worked and figure things out. Right now, the only things she could make well were simple storms, and her father still wasn't allowing her to advance. He barely let her practice!