Anyway, it's based on the whole knight/dragon/damsel in distress conflict, so it's got a strong romance flavor. That's why I'm posting it at the same time as "Royal Blue"...I don't think that many people here will be as interested in this kind of story. (I'm sorry if I've broken any unspoken etiquette by the way.)

This happens to be the revised version, but I still don't like the ending. Each time I try to write it, I end up planning out a novel in my head.

I'm toying with switching this from first person to 3PLO. It would help me end it with a greater sense of finality. But I like the informality of first person for this character.

It's about 7,500 words long.

***

First off, I’ve had a lot of time on my hands the past few days. I’ve been taking some time off from work for...personal reasons. Don’t ask.

Anyway, the paper was lying half off the coffee table as if it were just as bored as I was, so I picked it up and started flipping through the various sections. I kind of got mentally lost in the black and white contrasts until I found I was glancing through the Personals. When I was in college, back in the old days before the Internet took off, I used them as my regular source of entertainment. Some people watch soaps, I read the Personals. The words of the first ad I read seemed to leap off the page the instant my eyes fell on them:

***

And if I put down any more, I'll break the thirteen line rule.

Just in case I didn't send it, thank you for your comments. They helped quite a bit.

And to all, I've decided to change the POV and turn this into something larger. It's been mentioned by more than one person, and my instinct agrees, that the complexities are a bit much for a short story.

So, if you have a review pending on this, I won't expect one from you. Unless, of course, you want to point out specific problems I had with my style, in which case I'll be more than happy to receive your comments.