"The Lady or The Tiger" continued

The End of the Beginning

       Without the slightest hesitation, I go to the door on the right and open it. When i open the door i am greeted by a large, growling beast. I look to my greatest love and her father next to her, smirking to himself in content. How could she do this? Did she even love me at all? I guess i'll never know. I close my eyes, hearing the crowd roar, as i wait for the orange striped cat to pounce and feed on my flesh, thus ending the immense pain of betrayal in my heart. I wait and wait but feel nothing, I open my eyes and before me lies a peaceful tiger sleeping. Why, oh, why is life so cruel? To burden me with the pain of a thousand blades piercing my soul and then prolong it. I look at the princess, my one true love, once again. The look in her eyes is pained yet mischievous, Why does she wear a face of agony? Should I not be the one hurt? The only one i love chose for me to die, yet she is the one who wears such a pained expression. Why does my heart ache so? Why shall I live when my life wishes me dead? Not being able to bear the pain any longer, I yell to the tiger in attempt to wake it from it's oh so peaceful slumber. "Come get me, come end my life along with my pain" I shout. My wish is granted as the tiger's eyes slowly open and land upon me. The crowd is so shocked that there is silence amongst the arena, only small gasps could be heard. Suddenly, a deafening roar emits from the dark room in which a tiger is held. I further provoke the tiger  "I said come get me, did you not hear? I wish to die, I wish for the pain and sorrow to be over" I almost scream at the tiger. The tiger slowly gets up and walks towards me as i stand, broken and numb, before it. Just then, I glance to where the princess sat only to see she isn't there but i quickly realize that she is climbing over the small protective wall between the audience and the arena. "What are you doing? Are you crazy?!" I shout at her as she runs to my side, the tiger taking its time to reach us. "Crazy for you" she says as she protectively stands in front of me. "You knew the door you chose held the tiger, Why did you tell me to open the door that would lead to my demise?" I said, my voice mimics my heart as it is trembles and breaks. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking, I was blinded by jealousy and thought if i couldn't have you then none should, but i quickly realized that you have to fight for what you love." She boldly states apologetically. The tiger was now circling around us, waiting for the right time to attack its prey. The tiger jumps at us, I quickly move out of the way, pulling my love to my chest. "I forgive you, We'll make it out of here i promise, I won't let anything or anyone hurt you" I say as i look around, I fortunately spot a chain lying on the ground not too far from where we stood. I calmly tell the princess to run and bring it back to me while i distract the tiger. She does as she is told and goes to get the chain, thankfully the tiger's gaze was fixated on me. The tiger pounces at me but i duck and run under it. The princess comes back with the chain and gets behind me. I hold the chain up and the tiger gets in position to pounce at it, I then throw the chain as far as i can and watch as the tiger runs after it. I waste no time grabbing the princess' hand and running towards the cafe door, which is attached to the arena so people can eat while they watch. We approach the door and i open it before carefully shoving the princess in then following her in after. I shut and lock the door. "My father will surely have you killed!" She says as i look out the window to see the tiger playing with the chain and the king frantically yelling and looking around, it seems as though he didn't see us leave. "I know, we need to run far away and never come back, what do you say? Will you run away with me?" I wait patiently but anxiously for my love's answer "Yes, but i need to get some things from the castle first". I smile but my smile quickly fades as i think about all the guards looking for us. "What about your father and the guards?" I ask worriedly, "All the guards will be out looking for us, the only guards that would still be there are the entrance guards" she says and quickly follows with "I mean, I sneak you in all the time don't I?" she asks jokingly in attempt to lighten the mood. I let out a small chuckle and hold out my hand for her "Well then, we should get going, Shall we?". Her tiny hand grabs onto my own and I intertwine our fingers as i smile at her. "I love you so much, Joleen" I say and squeeze her hand gently. "I love you too, Damon".

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this small book continuing Frank R. Stockton's story "The Lady or The tiger". This is my first time writing and publishing a story so mind not any misspellings or sentences that don't make sense. I don't know how long i can continue this story or how often I will be able to upload chapters. If you have any suggestions for the story feel free to comment about it. If you have any questions about myself or the story feel free to ask also. If i get enough questions i'll do a Q&A. By the way i chose Joleen because it means brave and aggressive and i chose Damon because it means courageous. Hope you enjoy my writing and have a great day ^-^