The Lady or The Tiger?

The End?

A/N: This is my continuation of "The Lady or The Tiger?", originally written by Frank R. Stockton. I did this as an assignment in class forever ago, but I decided to publish it. Enjoy~! :)

When the man opened the large door, the blushing young maiden greeted him. Her beautiful porcelain face lit up with joy when she recognized the man before her. The massive crowd cheered as the two cried tears of joy and embraced each other, thankful that the young man was saved from the ruthless beast on the other side of opposite door. Just as accordingly to the rules of the trial, a band of choristers came out and sang merry songs, and the dancers blew on their golden horns.

This made the crowds cheer louder, hoorahs being heard from all directions when the brass bells rang. Everyone was in good spirits as they watched the cheerful children scatter flowers along the path that led to the exit of the arena, the new couple following close behind them. Although, there was a face that wasn't full of joy as the others were; that face belonged to the semi-barbaric princess.

The king noticed this and turned to his daughter, curiosity, along with a smug look, written on his face. "What seems to be troubling you?" he asked. The princess just stared at him in disbelief, her eyes red and puffy and her fists clenched. She couldn't believe her father asked a question with such an obvious answer.

Finally taking the hint, the king said,"What? You're upset over somethings as little as this? Come now, you know the rules of the trial. There's nothing that can be done about this. I strongly suggest that you get yourself together and move on. Besides, he's just another man with the appearance of gold and the quality of dirt. There are plenty of men within our class that would be suitable for you, a thousand fold!"

At this, the enraged princess stood up from her chair and looked the semi-barbaric king in the eyes. "Don't say such things about a person I've loved for so long," she said, her voice getting louder. The man stared at her, wide eyed. His usually obedient daughter had never dared to yell at him. Now over his shocked state, the king stood up, towering over the angered princess.

"Watch your tone," he said sternly. Before she could reply, he spoke. "That pathetic commoner didn't even think about you when he saw that maiden behind the door. Don't you see? He never really cared. Don't waste your time sniveling over something so foolish." He then turned to the nearby guards and ordered them to take the princess home, not wanting to hear any more from her. Soon, the princess was in a carriage and on her way back home, still hurt and infuriated by her father's words.

The princess stared out of the carriage window aimlessly, still thinking about what her father told her only moments ago. "He's wrong. He does care about me," the princess thought to herself. Suddenly, the semi-barbaric woman heard two familiar voices. She searched for the source of the voices, and what she saw when she found them made her face contort in anger and jealousy.

There he was, the man whose life she practically saved, chatting away merrily with the woman she hated with all of her being. "That sounds like a grand idea! I would love to assist you," the young woman said to the man. In response, he hugged her, thanking her many times and smiling brightly. "Assist him with what?" the princess wondered to herself, getting angrier the more she thought about it.

An idea popped into her head, and she started to smile to herself. "I just have to get rid of them both. If I can't have him, then no one can." She knew that the job could be done as soon as she informed her paid assassin that even the king didn't know about.

What she didn't know was that the man she once loved and the woman she always hated were trying to find a way for her to be together with him once more.

Thanks for reading! Please vote and share your thoughts in the comments~ ❤️