Kindle

She looked across the meadow at the old man on the big black horse. The sight of her future husband nearly made her sick to her stomach, but she was strong and of royal stock. There would be no show of weakness on her part.

She could see the lust in the old royal widower’s eyes. For her part, she betrayed nothing of her disgust.

Behind, and stretching out for hundreds of yards on either side of, was her contribution to the party; more precisely, her father’s contribution. He had been the one that brokered the deal. This marriage would bring an end to the decade-old war between the two small kingdoms. After this day, sons would grow to be men instead of being cut down in some senseless battle that was too insignificant for even a remembrance to be sung over.

A rider approached from the distance. “My savior!” she thought

He pulled up between the tribes and said, “Wait, I have brought a magic book called Kindle. It will solve all of your problems. The wedding can be cancelled!”

An old wizard stepped forward and said, “I know of this book and its false promises. Did you know that it often cannot get a signal at O’hare or San Diego airports? Did you know that sometimes, you order and pay for an online newspaper only to get the edition from a previous day? Did you know that most popular books and authors are unavailable? Did you know that some books come through as jumbled words with no way to navigate around?”

A spear arched through the air taking the newcomer fully in the chest. It had been thrown by the old king. The princess looked over at him and thought, “My hero!”

Word count 293