We spent the next two days in our rooms, only venturing out when the meal time bell went off in the courtyard below. The family that shared our room seemed to have some sort of job, as the father and older children disappeared during the day, and the mother carted the young ones down to the squat building and didn't return until the evening. On the first day they were gone, we pulled the tin bathtub out from under one of the cots and filled it with water we boiled on the stove.

Together, we climbed into the hot water and I nearly cried as it wrapped around me like a blanket. Ferdinand sat with his back against one side of the tub, and I sat on the other side. Our feet met in the middle, our knees poking above the water. We were too tired to do anything but concentrate on scrubbing our skin, hoping maybe that once we were clean we might start to feel like human beings once again. Once we were done, I helped Ferdinand to the cot and we sat around in the towels the Committee had assigned us while I scrubbed our old clothes in the water and waited for them to dry. Ferdinand fell asleep, and I hoped it was the deep kind that might help him heal.

On the second morning, as we walked down to breakfast, a man bumped into us in the courtyard. He was obviously part of the Committee's staff, as he wore a brown suit and a golden watch in his vest pocket, but he spoke Rumonin and greeted us.

"I don't know if anyone's told you yet, but we just got in a new shipment of clothes from the Ladies' Aid. Nice, sturdy winter stuff," he said. "Looks like you two could use something a bit warmer than what you've got now, so I'd check with Millicent at the front desk."

We thanked him and he disappeared with a smile into one of the doors of the buildings. I looked down at my dress and saw why he'd spoken to us. Wrinkled and stiff, the fabric was now the color of dishwater, and holes in the skirt flashed glimpses of my knee or thigh. Ferdinand's clothes were even worse.

After breakfast we found Millicent, an older woman with a round face and wispy gray hair out in the front of the building. She had us sign some more forms, tell her our basic sizes, and then she brought out two boxes which she handed over to us.

"They're a complete winter set. Should see you through until it starts getting warmer." She tapped the top of the boxes, and then turned to help a man behind us.

We went straight to our rooms and unpacked the boxes to find a set of clothing carefully folded away between tissue and the smell of lavender. We each had two sets of very simple clothing, a dress for me and a shirt and pants for Ferdinand, that were made of gray wool. Then there were thick wool jackets, also in gray, and two matching hats. The greatest find was a pair of boots at the bottom. They'd obviously both been worn before, but they had thick heels and strong laces. I kicked off my disintegrating pair and pulled the new ones on over the new woolen stockings. It felt like cushioned heaven.

We dressed in the new clothes, even pulling on the jackets and hats, and laughed at how padded and plump we looked in all the layers.

"I feel as if I'm in a sauna," Ferdinand said.

"It will take some getting used to." I flapped a hand in front of my face as sweat wet the edges of my hair. "I think we've gotten too used to freezing that being warm feels like sitting in a fire."

"Do you want to put them to the test? Walk around a bit outside?"

"Ferdinand, the doctor said to rest. I doubt traipsing around Ètrevay is what he had in mind."

"I'm about to go crazy cooped up in this room," he said, shuffling forward and grabbing my hands. "A little walk won't hurt me." He leaned in close, a smile on his lips, his arms sliding around my waist. I fought my own smile.

"Stop trying to get me to bend to your will," I said, staring him straight in the eye. "I'm stronger than you think."

"Mm, but when it comes to me, are you really?" He ducked his head, kissing my lips and pressing me closer.

"Ferdinand!" I pushed his chest but he only kissed me again, and I laughed into it. "You're being scandalous! What if the family comes back?"

"Then I guess we'd be better off not stuck in a bedroom, wouldn't we?"

He began to kiss the small sliver of my shoulder that showed through my jacket, and I quickly pushed him away. "All right, you win!" He laughed and pecked my cheek.

"I knew you'd come to see my way."

"Honestly, I'm surprised the corps girls back home didn't tell me more about your sinful exploits if this is how you act when you're bored."

He raised his eyebrows. "You think that was sinful? I can show you sinful." He stalked after me and I yelped as I dodged his hands and ran out into the hallway.

A moment later and we were on the streets of Ètrevay in the bright morning sunlight.

I had never seen such buildings as the ones owned by the citizens of Ètrevay. Even the row houses and rented rooms of the working class area where the Committee's base was located were well kept. Red bricks with green doors. Some were a bit worn, but none looked in danger of collapsing. The air smelled of bread and snow, with no hint of stagnant water or sewage. Most of the people walked in this area of town, but a few had carriages, and I even spotted motorcars.

A couple walked by us and dipped their heads in greeting. I stared after them, dazed by the thought that no one was racing home before the sun set, there were no gunshots ringing in the air, and I was walking on a sidewalk that had never once been clogged with fallen bodies. It felt like a dream world, somehow. A place unreal.

We walked slow, to accommodate Ferdinand's still mending muscles and bones, and by the time we reached the end of the road, it was already an hour since we'd set out. I pulled back, looking over my shoulder and hoping we'd be able to recognize the Committee amongst the other similar buildings, but Ferdinand hobbled over to look down the roads that jutted off from the deadend we stood on.

"Ferdinand," I said, sliding my hand into his. "We should head back."

"What? But we've only just begun to explore." His eyes gleamed as he spotted the heavier traffic down the sideroad. I glanced in that direction, seeing signs for stores that I couldn't read. Ferdinand seemed undeterred by this.

"I don't want to stray too far. We won't be able to ask for instructions if we get lost."

Ferdinand sighed, his eyes still fixed on the shops and the people walking and eating and talking. His fingers tightened around mine, and finally he turned to meet my gaze. "You're right. Of course." He smiled, but it felt strange and distant. I stepped close to him, tucked into his side, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

We headed back to the Committee, just as slow as before. Ferdinand lagged a bit more, but I guessed that it was more to do with staying out in the open for as long as possible. His eyes followed people as they passed, hanging onto them until they crossed from view, and then finding another. I felt terrible forcing him to return, but my fears were already bubbling away in my blood. If we grew lost, and could find no one who spoke Rumoni, we might be forced to spend the night in the streets. While Flauns did look neater, I didn't doubt that they still had crime.

Ferdinand held open the door to the squat building, and I walked through. The main room was dim as always, and I hung back until Ferdinand was by my side. As much as I hated not speaking the same language as everyone else, when I got around the Committee members that did speak Rumoni, I always felt the urge to hide. It was as if they could see through me. They could ask questions, form opinions on me. It unsettled me.

Millicent, the woman with gray hair, talked to a woman dressed in the most magnificent midnight blue cape I'd ever seen. I tried not to stare, but the swirling patterns of the velvet mimicked the wind in a night sky, and diamonds glittered in draping sprays from her ears. Her hands swept around as she spoke in Flaunsian, and Millicent laughed as if it was her only job in the world. In fact, all the others in the room seemed absorbed in the woman as well. They stood behind their desks, shuffling blank papers, or organizing alphabetical books on the shelves, but all obviously staring at the woman.

Not wanting to attract any attention, Ferdinand and I tried to slip by and into the hallway behind Millicent. We scooted around the edge of the desks, hugging the wall, and Ferdinand opened the door. He put his hand on my back, leading me into the hall, but just as I was passing the woman, my curiosity got the better of me. I peeked over my shoulder, looking past Ferdinand.

The woman looked up just as my gaze landed on her face, and her smile froze.

My heart stuttered and before I could stop myself I was in tears and rushing into her open arms. She gripped my back, pressing her cheek against the top of my hair.

"Mrs. Lephard!" I choked out.