Change In the Weather
Age was just a number to her. Really it was. She didn't feel the age she was on the certificate that was tucked safely in the wooden chest that had once belonged to her mother. She felt young still, vibrant. And she felt as though things had finally changed for the better.
The brothel was booming business wise. Soldiers would come and go, all wanting a taste of the girls of the Mystique. No bed was empty, and many slid into her sheets and out. Ava had been able to purchase many sheets to easily change them after a few gents, a few new frocks and corsets to show her assets that much more. The gem of the Mystique that would please all who wanted her attention, even if her heart was never fully in the time.
She still dreamed of him. Still felt his lingering touch, still smelled the tang of his tobacco lingering in the air. Some nights Ava would cry silently, clutching the cameo he had gifted her of a rose. A name he knew her by - a persona she would have been willing to drop in a heartbeat. If he had only asked. If only she had been more forward with him instead of stubborn and aloof with her feelings for the man.
But those were lonely nights, nights when no man came to her bed. Usually the nights before Mass or men were to be marching within hours. The wives couldn't keep them away, the mothers couldn't sway them either. All the girls of the Mystique were a taste of perfection. And they all wanted a chance with the Rose.
She had found the clues she needed, was slowly piecing together the way to bring down the bastards that had taken him from her. But this was something she would do on her own now. It had been just Ava for so long, and it would continue to be only Ava. No one cared for a whore these days, and no one would marry one. She would make enough eventually to leave Vera's establishment and create one of her own. One that was more discrete and safe for girls. Where a man would not treat a girl as they did sometimes in Vera's brothel.
Ava had it planned, and though she had seemed to be spending plenty upon herself she did stash quite a bit after paying Vera to ensure her freedom, safety and a better life for her. For those who chose to follow her and wanted safety as well. The wind was a changing, she could feel it coming. Not only in the streets of Five Points, but all across the country. She dreamed of going West to where the gold was, where men found fortunes. She knew that would be the place to live, to make plenty of money. But of course it would take a mint to move and set up shop.
The wind was moving in her favor though, she knew it was. Maybe, just maybe, things would be better for her in this newly discovered land.
