Twenty years ago, I took my daughter, Sara, to the ocean for her fourth birthday. She just learned to dog paddle, and proudly walked up to anyone in sight, saying, "I can swim." The sea was calm, so ... [+]
A.J. is a writer and filmmaker from Chicago. He writes critical essays, video essays, short stories, and the occasional odd poem. You can find more of his work at ajrocca.com "PrinceMatch" is in Short Circuit #08, Short Édition's quarterly review.
Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who was stolen by a terrible necromancer. He and his rotting, clanking horde abducted her from the palace gardens and carried her away and away until the golden fields of her kingdom decayed into marshland. He took her to his fortress lost deep in some forsaken bog and locked her in its tallest tower to await her parents' ransom. The necromancer grinned, flashing a tooth of brightest jade set amongst the others, and bid her to enjoy his hospitality. Then he left her for his laboratory in the basement to continue with his foul experiments. After h