A Promise

Stepping into Lily's room, Ava couldn't help but look around in curiosity.

The room itself wasn't that big, perhaps no more than four or five meters on any side, which was just enough room for a fairly large bed, a dresser, and a wardrobe. Of course, considering that it seemed like the girls had separate places to bathe and eat, it honestly did seem like more than enough for regular living.

With the exception of a few pieces of red fabric that were hung across the top of the room in a decorative fashion, Lily's room was surprisingly plain, as it seemed like all of the furniture was untouched, and even the dresser didn't have any fancy makeup, trinkets, or specialties sitting around.

Seeing Ava glance around with a curious expression before looking at her with a questioning look, Lily couldn't help but let out a small laugh before sitting down on her bed and dropping the towel onto the bed, leaving her in the nude. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not boring, I promise. I'd like some nicer things too, but I always end up spending most of my money on smokes and don't have enough to spend on trinkets. Anything nice costs more than what I have on hand."

Shaking her head with a slightly helpless smile, Lily couldn't help but sigh, "If I bought the cheaper smokes, I would be able to save a little bit more money to play around with, but the Madam made me promise that as long as I smoked, I would only buy the ones made by the Silverleaf brand which cost an arm and a leg for a box compared to the others."

Letting out a joking shake of her fist, Lily couldn't help but chuckle before getting up and walking over to her wardrobe and picking out a clean set of clothing to wear.

From behind, Ava couldn't help but be a little interested in the Madam. If the Madam had simply told Lily to quit smoking, although Ava would have understood and found it a reasonable reaction, she would have found it a little ignorant. An addiction was called an addiction for a reason. If someone could just up and quit, why would they be willing to spend so much money on it to begin with? Wouldn't it be nicer to spend it on some food?

She had seen it firsthand. How many of the people who she had fought with for scraps had been there because of misfortune, and how many were there because they had wasted away their lives drinking, gambling, or smoking? She could say this much, most of the people who were unfortunate to be left without a house and home were also unfortunate enough to leave the realm of the living.

In the end, the majority of her fellow 'scavengers' were the scum of the earth who had ruined their lives and their family's lives in the process of a fit of madness and passion. Ava had seen what addiction had done to these people, so she couldn't say she thought highly of these hedonistic activities. Why even bother to start? Of course, not everyone could be blamed. Some people had experienced it from a young age, and others had it forced upon them. She remembered there was a small gang that used a highly addictive and low-quality smoke for a while. When they weren't smoking, they looked listless and pale like dead men.

Letting out a slight frown, Ava quietly looked at Lily before saying, "If you can, you should quit. If you can't, the, um. What your Madam said should be right. I've seen what the low-quality sh*t can do."

Looking over at Ava with a surprised look, Lily slipped a loose-fitting shirt over her arms. "You sound a lot like the Madam right now."

Letting out a small smile, Lily couldn't help but smile before slightly lowering her voice and putting on a scrunched expression while wagging a finger at Ava, "Lily. I don't approve of you smoking, and I'd prefer it if you stopped altogether. But I know how hard it can be, so if you're going to keep smoking, at least promise me that you'll only smoke SilverLeaf."

Giggling, Lily slipped on a hair tie and left her hair in a ponytail before nodding at Ava, "Alright, I'm done for now. Um, do you want to get some food, or do you wanna just go to bed? I don't know how long you've been up. We can figure out the rest in the morning."

Thinking for a moment, Lily said with a start, "Oh, right! If you have any dirty clothes you want washed, you can leave it with me. Um, although honestly, it might be better to just get a new set. We can go shopping tomorrow."

Frowning, Ava wanted to reject. Although she had a fair amount of money on her right now, clothing could be considered the least of her priorities at the moment.

But before she could do so, Lily cut in again, "And don't you dare say no! As long as you're with me, you can't be wearing those rags. Or else how can I do… this!"

Reaching out, Lily pounced slightly and grasped Ava in a hug, and rubbed her cheek against Ava.

Sighing, Ava reached out to push Lily away but found that Lily had stopped moving as aggressively. Pausing, Ava turned to look at Lily to see that Lily was staring at her as well.

Whispering, Lily said, "Ava, I don't know what you experienced in the past, but as long as I'm here, I'll keep you safe, so can you try to live a little bit happier?"

Stunned, Ava stared into Lily's clear eyes and, after a moment, let out a small nod.

A stunning smile appeared on her face. Lily whispered, "Great!" and then took a step backward, giving Ava some space and looking her up and down.

"Alright, you still look energetic. How about we go and get some food? I don't know about you, but I'm starving right now! I'm telling you, Sasha's cooking is the best. You'll fall in love with it, promise!"

Walking over to the door, Lily stepped through and threw a glance back at Ava.

Letting out a small smile, Ava nodded and followed.