Most likely because she was always so put together, a picture of carefully layered silks, rich embroidery and gilded hair combs. He had never seen her in anything but the full ensemble, and to see her with only a fraction of it—a fraction he had never had reason to see before, either—could only be...jarring.

But Ashiko wasn't thinking about that. With a slightly reluctant wrinkle of her nose, she sunk back down into the water until her shoulders were covered as well. She could float, now, she reminded herself sternly. There was no monster to yank her down by the ankle here; that had only been a story to keep children off of the ice.