"Zephyr!"
A young woman of 23 was laughing and running through the halls of the mansion. She got to the stairs and slid down the banister. When she reached the ground, she took off running. She was halfway to the door when she crashed into someone.
"Daddy Dearest!" Zephyr exclaimed, throwing her arms around her father's neck and giving him a big kiss on his cheek.
Luke King smiled warmly. He loved his daughter more than anything in this world. She was, of course, tied. With her mother.
However, the atmosphere between father and daughter quickly died when Mercy Gold King descended the stairs, looking like the queen she was.
Mercy had long, straight black hair, a voluptuous body, fiery amber eyes, and light honey skin. She is a very beautiful woman. Even in her 50s, she looked like she was in her 30s. Much like her husband, they seemed to age slowly. Luke had short blonde hair, icy blue eyes, ivory skin, and is very physically strong for his age.
Zephyr had most of her mother's looks. She had Mercy's black hair, naturally tanned skin, voluptuous body, and a few other features, but her hair was wavy like her father's, and she had his crystal blue eyes.
She was definitely a Daddy's Girl. She had his shamelessness, pride, and charisma, while she also had her mother's brazen, straightforward, and stubborn attitude.
Zephyr didn't have siblings, but her cousins, Xander and Jane, made up for that. They were named after her paternal grandparents.
"Save me from the 'momster'," Zephyr whispered, hiding behind Luke, peeking over his shoulder.
Luke narrowed his eyes at his daughter's silly antics before shifting his gaze to his gorgeous wife.
He flashed a brilliant smile. Okay, maybe he'll get this trouble-maker out of consequences just this ONE time.
"My lady love," Luke said, walking towards Mercy.
Mercy raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. "I don't know if she told you yet, but your daughter just fought against Winter-"
"Solstice?! What?!" Luke exclaimed, turning around.
Zephyr gave a not-so-innocent smile and shrugged. "Winter Solstice's reign has gone on for too long. Someone had to challenge them-"
"No!" Luke said in shock, although he didn't yell. He had never once yelled at Zephyr. He had extreme patience when it came to her. But he couldn't believe what he was being told. "Zephyr... that was SO stupid."
Zephyr blinked, unfazed.
Mercy sighed, rubbing her temples. "First you move out... Then I hear that Phillip is suddenly arrested... Now this?"
Luke wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders, looking at his daughter with disbelief and sadness.
"Did..." Mercy started, looking distraught.
"Did we do something?" Luke finished.
Zephyr's eyes widened to almost complete circles before she ran to her parents and hugged them tightly.
"Never!" Zephyr said firmly. "You didn't do anything! I wanted to move out! Not because I don't love you, but because I need my own space sometimes. It's normal for people my age to move out. Please don't feel bad, Mom, Dad. And Philip is behind bars because I found him selling information to someone else. I can always replace my assistant. It's no biggie. And Winter Solstice attacked another gang when civilians got caught in the crossfire. I had to show them authority and they won't do it ever again."
Zephyr looked up and met her parents' gazes swirling with mixed emotions.
She smiled warmly.
Let it never be said that she didn't have a good relationship with her parents.
"I'll be careful," Zephyr said earnestly.
Luke and Mercy exchanged glances, silently communicating before they turned to their daughter.
"Will you take Charlie as your assistant?" Mercy asked.
"That's what I was gonna do, yes," Zephyr replied.
"Will you hold off on impulsive decisions when it comes to your... more dangerous work?" Luke asked.
"I promise," she said.
Zephyr's parents sighed reluctantly before squeezing their daughter close to them.
As much as Zephyr acted like a child sometimes, she was a very independent person and had been keen on moving out for a while. Now that she got the chance, she'd take it. But that didn't mean she wouldn't miss her parents. Her apartment was going to be a little ways from her parents' house. It was closer to her work.
After a while, Zephyr pulled herself from the embrace and stepped away.
"I'll call before bed, okay?" Zephyr said, picking up the duffel bag near the door. "We can FaceTime and I'll show you the house. Goodnight! Talk later!"
"Love you!" her parents said in unison.
"Love you, too!"
Zephyr stepped out of the threshold and closed the door.
Luke and Mercy glanced at each other. Luke gave a cheeky smile and Mercy was affected, but she tried to ignore him.
"Stop it," Mercy whispered, grabbing Luke's wandering hands. "She'll be back in a second."
"No, she won't," Luke smirked. "We have the house all to ourselves..."
He pulled his wife closer for a breathtaking kiss -
But abruptly froze when the door opened suddenly.
Zephyr sprinted inside the house and around the corner.
"Forgot my phone!" she yelled over her shoulder.
Luke, slack-jawed, glanced at his wife. Mercy was smirking victoriously in an 'I-told-you-so' manner. She always had her 'mom-tuition' switch turned on. She just KNEW things when it came to Zephyr.
Zephyr came running back out and almost reached the door before she turned around to glare.
"Not 30 seconds and you already advance on poor Mother!" Zephyr scolded. "Shame on you, old man!" Then she smiled sweetly. "Love you!"
The door closed loudly. This time, the couple waited until the sound of a car driving away became fainter.
Luke, who was annoyed at being called old, started grumbling.
"Stinking freak," he mumbled.
Mercy scoffed, amused. "Well, wonder where she gets it from."
Luke gasped dramatically before pouting. "Yeah... you."
Mercy's eyebrow rose. "Oh, really? Your stubborn old-man-self will never admit - hey! Luke!"
Luke picked his wife up bridal style and starting carrying her up the stairs like he wasn't 50-something years old. He gave her a cheeky smile. "Oh, I'll show you an old man!" he growled playfully.
~|~
As soon as Zephyr entered her all black Bugatti Divo, she sped off. She didn't really like flashy cars, but the Bugatti was her favorite because she liked to go fast. Of course, it was 8pm in Pennsylvania and there was still traffic on all the streets; so she couldn't go TOO fast.
It took 30 minutes for Zephyr to reach her new apartment. It wasn't big and she didn't plan on staying here for very long anyway. She was going to be moving back to New York in 6 months. Out of all the years here, she still preferred NYC. Yes, the move would be pretty sad, but her best friend Charlie was coming.
Charlie was Uncle Jeremy's kid. Like father, like son since Charlie was going to be Zephyr's assistant. A long time ago, Jeremy was Mercy's assistant. And friend. And bodyguard. Not that she needed the other two. Zephyr certainly didn't need a bodyguard, but it was always better to have that extra person.
Entering her apartment, she hung the keys on the hook by the door before ducking below the silver blur.
'THUNK'
Zephyr turned her head and pulled the silver ninja star out of the door calmly. She examined the edges before looking up.
"You better pay for that," Zephyr said, poking the centimeter-deep line on the door.
Xander laughed, doubling over, clutching his stomach. Jane pouted, placing her hands on her hips.
Jane was the absolute spitting image of her mother, Leslie, while Xander was more of a split between his parents. As Leslie had pale blonde hair, pale skin, freckles, and athletic body and Jane took after her. Xander had dark blonde hair, slightly tanner skin, freckles, and a lean body.
Xander was a year older than Zephyr (though he was a goofball and acted like a child) and Jane was a year younger than Zephyr. However, the bond between the three of them were like siblings. For a very long time, it was Zephyr, Charlie, Xander, and Jane. Of course, everyone got their own nicknames.
After his laughing fit, Xander turned to his sister and held out his hand.
"Pay up," he said cheekily.
Jane frowned and pulled out a five-dollar bill, slapping it onto her brother's palm with a grumble.
"You were betting?" Zephyr asked with a chuckle, setting her duffel bag down next to the door and heading towards the kitchen.
"Yeah," Xander said, stuffing the money into his pocket. "I said you'd duck and make JJ pay. She said you'd swipe and have some silly yet awesome catchphrase."
Zephyr laughed, twirling the ninja star over her knuckles before tossing it in the air. She flipped to the right - in the air - and kicked the star between the siblings, launching it onto the bullseye of the dart board.
Zephyr landed on her feet at the same time the ninja star hit the board.
She smiled. "That's how you Ninja."