Ever So Lightly- Book 1

2

Agitha Elvy wasn't Zephyr's mother. According to Agitha, she found Zephyr sobbing on the side of the road when Zephyr looked to be about two years old. Agitha took the sad child in and raised her as her own. When asked for her name, the child had just said Zephyr. She didn't know her own last name, so she took Agitha's. Agitha was a kind woman in her early 50s, who had owned the little bookshop on the edge of town for as long as Zephyr could remember. She had gotten rounder as the years had passed, and now her hair was more gray than the shining black it had been in her younger days. Despite her age though, Agitha was just as active as ever and still ran her shop every day.

Agitha's Books was the unoriginal name of the little shop. It was small and quaint, just as a bookshop should be, and nestled into the far west corner of Bremerton. As Zephyr approached the bookshop she could see Agitha inside with a customer. Zephyr walked into the shop and immediately went to the door behind the counter that led to the living quarters. She quickly changed into a fresh, black tunic and walked back out to the store front to help Agitha, who was still talking with the same customer Zephyr had seen through the front window, another soldier. Right as Zephyr reached the front counter the doorbell jingled. Zephyr looked to see a well dressed young lady, about her own age, dangling on the arm of an equally well dressed gentleman. The girls skirts were so big they barely fit through the front door, which was one of the many reasons Zephyr despised wearing dresses.

"Is there anything I can help you to find?" Zephyr asked the new couple.

"Oh, I'm looking for a book!" said the lady. Obviously, thought Zephyr, rolling her eyes at the couple, who only had eyes for each other and were paying the books no attention at all. Zephyr, deciding they wouldn't be in the shop much longer anyways, turned her attention to Agitha's conversation with the soldier, who was just then paying for his books and thanking Agitha for her help. Zephyr finally noticed the man, and began to wonder why all of the men she met today were so handsome, and why she hadn't noticed any good looking soldiers before. This young soldier looked to be about twenty-three years old, with short, dark, shaggy hair that fell into his eyes. His eyes were stunning, such a dark brown that they were almost black, with a gleam in them that almost took Zephyr's breath away. His skin was tanned with a healthy golden-brown tint, his face unshaven but not bearded, just enough stubble to give him a shadowy appearance. Standing next to Zephyr he seemed rather tall. She couldn't seem to look away from his mysterious eyes.

"This is my daughter, Zephyr," Agitha pulled Zephyr forward, "And Zephyr, this young man is Lieutenant Jasper West. We have been having the most delightful conversation! Lieutenant West has read almost as many of the books in this store as you have Zephyr!"

"Please, call me Jasper," the lieutenant offered a sheepish smile. "I've found that reading is as good a hobby as any, and an evening of reading never leaves me with a hangover in the morning," he continued jokingly. Zephyr, as usual, had no idea how to properly continue the conversation, partly because she was still entranced by Jasper's eyes, and partly because of her demeanor.

"It's very nice to meet a soldier who does something besides drink and play cards all evening," Zephyr thought that was safe enough to say, but then the conversation seemed to die out.

"Well, I should head back to camp," he said, then turning toward Agitha, "I will let you know what I think about this one after I've finished it." Smiling and nodding goodbye to both women, Jasper turned and left the store. Just as Zephyr had guessed, the couple from earlier had also left, without purchasing anything. Agitha walked to the front to lock up for the evening, as Zephyr began cleaning up around the shop.

"Well he was very nice to look at," said Agitha, winking at Zephyr, who blushed and rolled her eyes at the older woman. "How was the beach?" Agitha continued, knowing she wouldn't get a response from Zephyr about her first remark.