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Chloe covered her mouth with her hands. The bear grunted. Birds flapped through the air. The elephant swung its trunk, as frogs hopped around, with a bald eagle gliding through the sky above. A venomous black serpent wrapped itself around Nicholas’s arm.

“What a surprise!” Nicholas laughed. “You’re so awed, but this is merely a little of my collection. Too bad I couldn’t show you my aquarium of fish and aquatic creatures, ranging from the great blue whale to the tiniest of sea-dwelling creatures, whatever that be!

“I have plenty of fish, beautiful coral, and sea plants─and oh, what about the clownfish and jellyfish and angelfish and pufferfish!  And the sharks and all the more, but that would be too much to describe. What you see is only, like, one percent of the animals that claim me as their master.

“But enough of that! Now stare, and behold the great beasts before you! The mischievous chameleon, the monkey the jokester, the evil Komodo dragon. Shocked like lightning at this marvelous sight?”

Chloe wrinkled her nose. The Nameless Daughters glared at the crowd, death glimmering in their eyes. A gorilla rose, roaring and beating its chest.

Nicholas smirked. “Creation’s Day, I love this time of the year!” He paused, his gaze scanning the silent crowd, until it stopped at King Killian. “Your Royal Magnificence, the pleasure of riding the majestic tiger?”

King Killian leaned forward from a carriage pulled by white horses. “Impossible! Are you out of your mind? What a horrific idea!”

Nicholas paused, then rolled his eyes. “Did I stutter? Don’t you see that I have all these animals standing right here, being so patient as they are? Don’t be an idiot!” He paused. “Would you like to ride a tiger?”

“No, thank you very much!” King Killian growled. “Sir Jaden, bring me this sorcerer’s head!”

“My pleasure,” said Sir Jaden coolly.

The crowd murmured. Chloe’s eyes darted to Zoe, then back to Nicholas. What in the whole wide world?!

But Nicholas only smirked. “Say what you will, but do be careful. I’ll not hesitate to end His Royal Magnificence’s life.”

Chloe watched, tensed. A mixture of curiosity and dread formed within her.

Sir Jaden unsheathed his sword.

“Anyways,” continued Nicholas, “I am very pleased with this mighty audience. Now, Your Royal Magnificence, I am offering you a chance to live. You will do as I say, or else, die a painful death.”

King Killian glared. “I will never bow to you.” He snapped an impatient finger at Sir Jaden. “Well, don’t just stand there. Bring this lunatic to his knees and make sure his head is still not connected to his neck, will you?”

Chloe gulped. For a whole moment, everything was silent. But then Nicholas smirked. Again. The black snake clinging around Nicholas’s arm eyed the king an evil, red-eyed stare; then leapt into the air.

The crowd gasped. The snake was quick as lightning. No more had King Killian set eyes upon the serpent than had it slithered up his chariot horse’s leg and curled itself onto the chariot. It hissed and leapt into the air, sinking its fangs into the king’s heart.

And the reign of King Killian was over.

Chloe couldn’t believe her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder, but Zoe was nowhere to be seen. Her heart began to beat faster than before. The animals crept forward, as if positioning themselves for an attack.

Nicholas smirked. “His Royal Magnificence made quite a mistake. I would’ve let him ride the tiger, what a scene that would’ve been, but all I got was this…,” he paused between his words, “but not like that matters now, does it? That will not change my plan for Creation’s Day.”

Chloe sensed something was about to go terribly wrong. What was Nicholas planning with all those animals? She felt the sudden urge to disappear in a poof of smoke, but she could hardly budge through the crowded audience. And where had Zoe vanished to? The thoughts almost hypnotized her.

The Nameless Daughters snapped their fingers all at once. That must have been a sign, because all the animals looked to their wretched master for his approval, and sure enough, all Nicholas could say before they went wild was: “Charge.”

Screams filled the air. The animals charged, ramming into the crowd. An elephant ran, crushing all those in its way. Chloe screamed, dashing across the ground and nearly running into someone, as well. Mosquitos, beetles, flies, and other insects zoomed about.

A hippopotamus clamped its mouth shut as a poor man lost his life; then the man was run over across the ground by a rhinoceros. A giraffe kicked out its legs, as wolves tore human flesh. Tears formed in Chloe’s eyes as she ran for her life. A wild zebra zoomed right past her, nearly knocking her unconscious.  An ostrich, emu, and cassowary attacked a helpless beggar. Chloe tore her gaze away. A mean rooster blocked her, but she kicked the thing out of her way.

Several bears circled Sir Jaden before striking him to the ground. Blood ran between his fingers, his glossy wide eyes staring into nothing. Chloe only glimpsed poor Sir Jaden’s way, but she could not stop running. Mean-looking crows, as well as sparrows, cardinals, blue jays, falcons, seagulls, goldfinches, robins, woodpeckers, herons, owls, hummingbirds, parrots, eagles, ducks, geese, and many other birds were roaming the sky.

A fox growled at a crying child. A mink, weasel, marten, and skunk skittered around. A kangaroo kicked a man in the chest, as a swan flapped mighty wings at a soldier. Aardvarks, porcupines, pangolins, armadillos, hyraxes, and anteaters joined the fight, followed by the slowest moving sloth.

Ants crawled forwards in swarms, butterflies fluttered around, grasshoppers leapt about, lightning bugs flickered through the air, dragonflies zapped around, and deadly spiders roamed the grounds. A crab pinched a man’s foot as a chameleon crawled up his back, poison dart frogs leaping onto his body.

A vicious peacock set to tearing the flesh of a soldier that had been wounded by several scorpions. A woman screamed as a deer rushed toward her with giant antlers. Wild pigs charged little children. Snakes slithered across the ground as rats and bees set to harming the people. A vibrant pink flamingo knocked over a jewelry stand as dozens of bats swarmed the air.

Tears rolled down her cheeks. Creation’s Day was supposed to be a time of rejoicing, a time where she could finally take a break from even dealing with Nicholas, and meet her twin sister who had suddenly vanished! What was this? People dying, the terrorizing the town, the king bitten by a serpent? She didn’t understand.

The sky exploded in sound. The screaming crowd, the sounds of ruthless animals, the clanking of metal weaponry. But despite all the noise, Chloe could hear still hear something. It was Nicholas’s laughter. Anger and rage boiled within her.

A hyena stomped past her, striking the fellow right next to her. She gasped and dashed across the ground, passing a vicious group of rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, and possums. An otter hissed, followed by a badger, wolverine, stoat, beaver, and red panda. She glimpsed a polar bear in the distance.

A mad tortoise nearly rammed Chloe to the ground, but she managed a kick to its mouth.

She gasped for breath. A wombat and koala bear gazed at her from a distance as she ran for her life. She stopped at the nearest tent; a large, round, yellow one. The one where she met Zoe.

But where was Zoe? She swore she was about to stab herself.

A monkey screeched, dancing through a bakery and throwing cupcakes in the air. A gorilla, orangutan, chimpanzee, gibbon, and baboon joined in the bakery mess, tearing to shreds cakes and breads and more. A couple alligators and crocodiles chased a group of clowns, while a bunch of lizards scattered about terrorizing the beautiful Princess Kladelli.

Chloe ducked behind a pile of outfits, shuddering. A vicious wild turkey and emperor penguin passed her tent. Tears slid down her cheek. Then a hedgehog, platypus, mongoose, and mole. After that a lemur, jackal, golden lion tamarin, coyote, and giant panda. She couldn’t even bare the sight of an animal in her life again.

She remembered when she loved animals. She remembered when she used them as illustrations when she spoke; she had always had a deep fascination for animals. But that fascination for animals was long gone.

She remained hidden, hoping with all her heart that none of the animals would notice her. She lifted her eyes, spying some wildebeests, cattle, buffaloes, bison, antelopes, elk, moose, deer, donkeys, horses, pronghorn, gazelles, zebras, okapis, and more. Even several hamsters skittered by. Followed by a bunch of mice and gerbils.

And some slow moving snails, whatever the danger they could possess.

A roar cracked the air. A great golden lion, the first of Nicholas’s animals she had seen at Creation’s Day, was standing right in front of her. Along with some tigers, jaguars, leopards, cheetahs, panthers, cougars, pumas, lynxes, and even house cats. Chloe closed her eyes, putting a hand to her temple.

She froze at a strange hiss. Out of the pile of dress-up clothes she was hiding behind, slithered a beautiful but deadly coral snake. She gasped and stepped back as a mamba and cobra joined the serpent.  Hisses consumed the air. She spotted a boa, rattlesnake, green anaconda, and reticulated python. And a dozen other serpents she couldn’t name.

She screamed and dashed out of the tent. A white dove flapped just inches from her face. She screamed again and nearly stepped on a running prairie dog, drawing the attention of a sheep and goat in the distance─and also a black bear.

She paled, trembling. A pheasant stared at her from afar with intense, steely eyes, perched on a dead tree. She clapped her hands over her ears, and took off running to wherever the nearest tent was.

Howls sliced the air.

Chloe gasped, glancing over her shoulder. Three timber wolves were stalking her, snarling and growling. She tore her gaze away, but ahead of her stood a mighty grizzly bear. Her heart sunk, fear plastered across her face.

“Stop!”

The three timber wolves and grizzly bear froze at the unexpected owner of the voice. Blue eyes pierced the air, the wind rustling golden hair. He was clothed in green leather, a bow and arrow in his hand.

“Eric Diego!” Chloe shouted.

“Yes, that is my name,” Eric said with a grin. “Are these things bothering you?”

The wolves snarled, the bear silent and aggressive. Without a second thought, Eric flung an arrow through the air. A wolf dropped dead. Two more arrows. Two more wolves dropped dead.

The bear rushed at Eric. He drew his sword. Once the bear was in range, he drove his blade between its eyes. Its skull cracked. Chloe cringed at the sound.

“Eric,” she whispered, wiping away her tears. Her eyes were frozen in fear. “Y-you came…”

“Yes, I did,” Eric paused, sheathing his sword, “but right now is not time for conversation. We must get going before more anim─”

A dozen shrews skittered to a stop, casting Chloe and Eric mischievous looks. But unlike the other animals, they didn’t attack. But that look of mischief never left their faces.

“Surprise!” shouted happily Nicholas.

Eric’s hand shot to his dagger. Before he could get a hand on it, a great golden main drew his attention. A roar cracked the air, followed by an elegant shadow. Chloe gasped as the lion pounced.

Nicholas grinned. Stepping over Eric’s fallen body, he scratched behind the lion’s ears like it was only a pet. “Good lion.”

Chloe stepped back. She clenched her shaking hands into fists. She could hardly process this!

“Oh, I forgot about you,” Nicholas said mockingly. “Did you want something?”

Chloe swallowed hard. Then, ran away as fast as she could! She glanced over her shoulder, but only to see Nicholas laughing and petting his lion. When she glanced ahead of her, only leaves and branches met her.

She screamed, colliding with a tree. Hitting the ground.

Darkness clouded her vision.

 

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