The Comb’s Hidden Door — Between the first bell and the breakfast bell, Elowen made a game called Mirror-Clue. Read the full story →
Between the first bell and the breakfast bell, Elowen made a game called Mirror-Clue. She hid one tiny sign in the glass with her fingertip, then tried to find its twin somewhere in the room before the fog of her breath faded. This morning she wanted to win without asking a maid, but the twin mark—a curled leaf—was not on any bottle, brush, or silver handle.
The carved comb in her lap clicked. A warm cedar smell rose from its teeth, and the same curled leaf glimmered on its back. Elowen’s stomach gave a small jump. The comb tugged toward the tall wardrobe, where her robe hung still as a sleeping ghost. She stepped across the cold floorboards, paid for her courage with one pearl button that popped from her sleeve, and whispered, “All right, show me.”
Behind the robe, a narrow panel opened just enough for a ribbon of blue light. Inside lay a plain wooden hairpin and a note: For the first princess who follows her own clue. Elowen brought the hairpin back and tucked it into her braid instead of the pearl. If you trace the comb’s curls next time, can you find the leaf that started Mirror-Clue before the first bell faded?
