“It is rabbit,” the woman said gently trying to take it out of his hands. “The latest Idumean fashion. Perhaps such a coat would be inappropriate since it reminds you of a beloved pet—”
“Not that beloved. We turned it into an excellent stew. Carrots, turnips, onions—”
“Well, you see,” she said, clenching her teeth as he put it on and strained to wrap it around the front around his ample body, “it being the latest Idumean fashion means it’s also very expensive—”
The staff sergeant, stroking the white fur on the front, paused. “How expensive?”
“Twenty full slips of silver!” She looked appropriately shocked.
The sergeant went back to petting the memory of the stew. “That’s within my range, actually. At the very end of it, but—”
“It’s a woman’s coat!” the shop owner blurted. “You can’t buy it for your brother!”
Gizzada only slowed in his petting. “Doesn’t look like a woman’s coat to me.”
“But it will to everyone else. Look at the design of the rabbit fur—it’s stitched in butterflies!”
“Do you have any other white coats?”
“No,” she admitted, looking around frantically in case a coat decided to pale overnight in order to fit the sergeant’s odd need. “And it doesn’t close completely on your front. If your brother is the same size—”
The sergeant shook his head. “Need it only to close around the chest area. My brother is the same size there, but not down here,” he chuckled as he patted his round belly. “I’ll take it! It’s perfect.”
The woman rubbed her cheeks with one last protest. “But . . . people will laugh at your brother if he wears that in public!”
“He’s not expecting to be seen much in public with it, ma’am. And certainly not in Edge.”
“Not in Edge? Oh, well then. That’s different. Shall I wrap it for you?”
---
Karna walked tensely to the feed barn outside the compound as the sun was setting. Although the entire reason for what was about to take place had been explained to him, he still felt very ill at ease. His only consolation was that he wasn’t the only one unhappy about it.
He glanced around before stepping into the barn, but it was unnecessary. Nearly every soldier was out on patrol on the new all-night training regime devised by the Command Board in Idumea.
Or so they were told.
Edge was the first to try the “experiment,” and while the soldiers weren’t too thrilled about altering their sleep schedules so that every last one of them was on the night shift, they were obedient. Besides, it had been dull for the past year, so this was definitely something new and even a bit exciting.
The lieutenant slipped into the barn and saw the lamp light coming from the middle of it. He made his way quickly there, weaving around large bales of hay, and when he saw the scene, kept his pfft! in his head.
“I still can’t believe you’re doing this, sir.”
“Not ‘sir’,” Perrin said as he finished unbuttoning his uniform jacket. He took it off and handed it to Grandpy Neeks, who also groaned in displeasure. “Without my uniform, I am no longer the captain. Just call me . . . Perrin,” he winked. “Told you that before, Brillen.” He stood in the frigid air in only his thin white undershirt, goose bumps developing on his large shoulders.
Gizzada winced and looked at the other two soldiers.
“When Idumea finds out . . .” Karna shook his head. “You remember what General Cush said after that first raid?”
“Yes, Brillen, I remember,” Perrin intoned. “If Idumea finds out, I’m out of the army. Well you know what? I don’t care what Cush, Mal, or even my father has to say about this. I’m not about to sit waiting for Guarders to come after my family! It’s not as if I’m violating the Creator’s law. It’s a rule made by a man who didn’t anticipate such a scenario. I have no doubt Pere Shin would approve of my breaking his rule to save his granddaughter-in-law and great grandchildren.”
Karna, Neeks and Gizzada exchanged dubious looks as Perrin began to unbutton his trousers.
“But you could lose your commission—”
“Brillen,” Perrin stopped unbuttoning midway, “I’d rather be an impoverished sausage-on-a-stick vendor in Moorland with a family, than be the next High General of Idumea knowing that I let my wife and children die. Mahrree would prefer to live as well, I’m sure. So I’ll do what’s right and let the Creator decide my fate.”
Grandpy Neeks sighed loudly and shook his head, while Gizzada bit his lip.