Of Castles and Dragons

The Lion and the Princess

(Short note: This was a revision of a story I made for a certain school project back in tenth grade. Just thought I should post it here.)

ONCE, in a faraway kingdom, there lived a very beautiful princess. Now, the princess may be the prettiest girl around, but she was also really spoiled, very arrogant and extremely proud. She lived in a huge castle where she could play with anything she wanted and do whatever her heart desired.

        However, she ultimately got bored of seeing her servants and doing the same stupid shit she'd been doing all her life, so she decided to get a new source of entertainment. She wanted to raise a pet.

        The princess immediately called for her mother and father in her royal bedchamber. The king and queen came at once, and there she declared her bidding. "I want a dog, father," she told the king. But then she realized she wanted something fiercer, something more attractive, and something that would catch everyone's attention. "No, not a dog. I want a lion."

        The king ordered the palace guards to search for the healthiest, strongest, and most handsome cub in the kingdom. When the next day came, the queen presented a male cub to her daughter. The king agreed that the princess could keep him on one condition: he must be already perfectly trained by the time he grew up.

        The princess was overjoyed and proceeded to tame the animal. Oh! What fame she'd get if she'd be able to turn the cub into a magnificent lion that would do whatever she asked. The thought of glory burned in her mind, so she spent all of her time trying to make her new pet obey her, but all to no successful result.

        She struggled indeed, and used all the techniques she could think of. She tried being gentle and nestled the small thing in her arms at night, but it just spoiled the cub. She tried being harsh, kicking the creature whenever he complained. She tried to make him eat dog's food, but the cub would only spat and snarl at his plate. In the end, the princess decided that he could not really eat like how a decent dog would, so she ordered the servants to bring forth a tray of raw veal. She fed the lion and watched in disgust as he attacked the meat with his fangs and claws.

        Unknown to the princess, the wild animal really did try to change. He tried his hardest to do whatever trick she ordered him to do. He would stumble sometimes, but he'd get up and redo the trick. He tried to act like how he was ordered to, but he just couldn't be perfect. Whenever the princess would bring him with her in the royal garden, he would try to be interested in playing ball, when in truth, he actually wanted to haunt. He tried and did everything he could to his body's and mind's extent, but he was never good enough for the princess.

        Time went by and the cub grew into a mighty lion. He was indeed very handsome, and the princess decided to present him in front of the king, the queen and their subjects. She was nervous, but not more nervous than the lion himself. He knew that if he failed the test, the consequences would be grave. So when the gathering commenced, he gave all of his best to pass every single test.

        But passing was not enough for the princess. She wanted to show off, wanted to make the people see how amazingly she had trained the once-wild cub. She yelled at him, whipped him when he made the slightest mistake. She wanted perfection.

        But as was said, the lion was not, nor would he ever be, perfect.

        Blows on blows of curses and harsh scolding were received by the poor lion. "No! Not like that, you stupid creature!" "That is wrong! Wrong! Wrong!" "Look at that dog over there, it's so much better than you!" "I've just wasted my time on you!" "Idiot!" "No. Still not good enough! Repeat!"

        The last task came and the lion was already beyond exhausted. His knees were already wobbly and he couldn't even breathe in enough air. He craved for food and for water. But most of all, he wanted someone to just be there to support him.

        So the lion tried to look at the princess, hoping that she would finally show genuine concern this time around. But the princess wasn't even looking interested anymore. She was shaking her head. "You're a huge disappointment," she muttered.

        Those words were all it took for the lion to finally snap. All rage he had been trying not to let go burst out of him at that moment. The sense of rejection for the millionth time, the sense of shame, the sense of pity towards himself, every sort of emotion was mixed inside his head. He pounced at the princess, adrenaline being his only source of energy. The princess cried and shrieked in pure terror while she tried to get the lion off of her. Everyone went into a huge panic, exclamations of different sorts filling the place.

        The head-guard of the royal family fired his gun at the lion and three sounds of gunshot pierced through the air, silencing everyone. The lion stopped moving, and then he collapsed on the ground beside the princess. There were a few collective gasps, one coming from the worried queen. The princess was still in shock, unable to move.

        But the lion . . . he felt numbness spreading rapidly all throughout his body. He was staring at the dusty ground the whole time, processing the strange fact that he lived his whole life trying to please someone who was just so impossible to satisfy. The lion felt the blood gushing out of its side, but oddly enough, it provided him some sort of contentment. At least now, he didn't have to pretend anymore. The world spun around the lion's vision, until complete darkness swallowed him whole.

Now, here's a question: 
Who killed the lion?