Zenia's Zoo #atozchallenge

 

For the A to Z Challenge, I'm featuring twenty-six flash fiction pieces from my Foxwick Kingdom and its surrounding neighbors. A to Z Flashes of Foxwick is now available from Smashwords and Amazon and includes the bonus short story "Lady Death." You can add this to your Goodreads list here.

Z

Zenia’s Zoo

Zenia knew something was missing from her menagerie.

A little dragon fluttered in his cage before gnawing on a sheep’s leg. The phoenix’s sweet song floated to Zenia’s ears, and she cuddled a baby unicorn and fed him a slice from her apple. A roc pecked at the ground and awaited a chance to fly. She had deer, a pet wolf, and horses. A tiny kitten wrapped around her legs, and Zenia tucked the kitten in her dress’s pocket.

She loved her animals. They listened to her gentle words and song. While her mother, Queen Amelia, had talents with plants, Zenia lived for her zoo.

But something was missing, and she didn’t know what to do.

“A present from the king, Princess Zenia.” The servant lugged a crate with holes into the barn.

“What is it?” Zenia clapped her hands and jumped up and down as the box opened to reveal a small gryphon with its swishing lion-like tail and brawny wings. The gryphon hissed like a cat, but Zenia giggled.

“Calm, sweet beast, and hear my song. You’ll never want for anything all day long.” Her sweet voice lilted into the air and calmed the gryphon. She wished she could do the same for the people in her Foxwick and surrounding lands so there would no longer be war and heartache.

But for now, a gryphon could be just what completed her menagerie.

Now if you want to learn more about authors, I’m featuring up to three per day on my blog Surrounded by Books Reviews. To find the other participants, click here.