A Decision

Sitting at the edge of her bed, Ava couldn't help but sigh. It had been a week since she had arrived in Yarnold Town, and in the time she had been here, she had spent almost all of it in Foxes Respite, or in other words, the brothel that Lily worked at. If she was a young man, perhaps she could at least excuse herself by saying that she was simply 'awed' by the amenities a big city had to offer, but she really didn't have such a reason.

She was just here for…

"AVA!"

A small smile setting on her face, Ava turned around, looking at Lily, who had entered the room. In the time she had stayed here, she had only met the Madam once and had been quite impressed by the woman. If nothing else, Ava had to say that the lady was really quite suited to work in the service industry. The Madam was a rather interesting woman. She was by no means a beauty, simply having a plain, unadorned charm to her. Standing at a little under five feet, you wouldn't think she was the type of person to have the authoritative aura that she did.

But, with a smile on her face, she was able to carve her place in this unruly part of town, keeping herself and the girls safe with both aboveboard and underhanded means. Despite that, however, she was able to balance her authority and her personal relationships. Of all the girls Ava had met until now, although she had met quite a few who were a bit scared of the Madam, none of them had anything bad to say about the lady. Even Ava couldn't help but admit she had a rather good impression of the lady, as she had decisively handed over the other key to her room to Lily after seeing the caution in Ava's eyes.

Jumping over the bed, Lily came over and hugged Ava placing her head on her chest before perking up a little and rubbing her head against Ava's chest. Feeling a little helpless, Ava lightly pushed down on the scarlet red hair that was rubbing into her nose with a doting smile. "Lily, do you mind?"

Not pausing for a moment, Lily continued her actions, "Yes, I do mind. Someone's making me quit smoking, so I'm feeling grumpy. Ah, you're so soft."

Letting out a soft sigh, Ava smiled and rubbed Lily's soft red hair while looking down at the lady in front of her. Over the past week or so, perhaps noticing Ava's furrowed brows and crinkled nose every time she pulled out a smoke, Lily had reluctantly decided to quit. Anyways, she had adopted a sister, so she couldn't let her be wronged by anyone, much less herself, right?

Turning back and looking out the window again, Ava couldn't help but feel a little confused for a while before eventually coming to a decision in her heart. Anyways, she had come here looking for a new beginning. It wouldn't be so bad to settle down, right? Looking down at the husky-like lady in her embrace, Ava couldn't help but give her a tight squeeze before pulling back her arms and placing a hand on Lily's forehead, and pushing her back.

Feeling herself get pushed away, Lily let out a symbolic last grab before sitting up and looking at Ava, who was looking at her with a slight smile on her face. In a light blue blouse and a knee-length white skirt, Ava looked quite pretty today, and Lily couldn't associate her with the dirty little bundle of anger that had pushed her down not so long ago.

A little dazed, Lily watched as Ava slipped off the bed before walking over beside Lily and saying, "Let's go."

Reacting a bit slowly, Lily took a moment to ask, "Ah? Where to?"

Turning back and giving Lily a mysterious smile, Ava softly said, "We're going to go see the Madam."

Nodding dumbly, Lily followed behind Ava half a step slower before reacting, "Wait, why are we going to go see the Madam? Did you break something again, Ava? I can pay for it. There's no need to go find the Madam for that."

Letting out a slight chuckle, Ava shook her head, "Nope, that's not the reason."

Concerned, Lily ran up and circled in front of Ava, "Is someone bullying you? You can tell me. I'll stand up for you!" Thumping her chest twice, Lily puffed up like a peacock.

Smiling, Ava shook her head and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder, and pulled her along as she started moving down the stairs to see if the Madam was in her office.

Allowing herself to be pulled along, Lily couldn't help but wonder what Ava was up to.

Walking over to the Madam's office, Ava was about to walk in, but Lily quickly pulled her back.

Half hissing and half whispering, Lily said, "Ava! You can't just walk in like that."

Head half tilted, Ava couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

Stammering and fidgeting with her fingers, Lily tried to figure out a reasonable explanation before just saying, "Well, you just can't. It's rude. Now come here."

Nodding, Ava took a step towards Lily, who ran her fingers through Ava's hair, helping tidy it up. Although Ava had gotten into the habit of bathing and keeping clean, years of treating her hair as nothing more than a cover for her face had led Ava to have a chronic case of bedhead.

Getting Ava's hair into a relatively satisfactory state, Lily took half a step back before moving forward again and helping arrange Ava's clothing a bit to look a bit more presentable. Giving herself a happy nod at her handiwork, Lily took a step back and whispered, "Now do me."

Looking at Lily's appearance, Ava was at a bit of a loss and, in the end, simply tugged a bit at the bottom of Lily's top before slightly ruffling up Lily's hair. Seeing Lily look just as pretty as always, Ava let out a slight nod.

On the other hand, Lily couldn't help but feel a little speechless. She was asking to ensure that she looked tidy! How come she had her hair messed up?

But before Lily could react, Ava pushed open the door to the Madam's office.