The Lady or The Tiger

Chapter 4

Nobody P.O.V

As the lover walked to the right door the audience went from silence to screams, shouts and laughter. He took a deep breath and pulled on the leaver that opens the door. His heart pounding in his chest. Sweat dripping from his brow either from the heat of the day or from the fear of not knowing whether he was he was going to live or die, he didnt know. The doors opened slowly and out stepped a young man.

The audience gasped this had never happened before. The audience didnt know what to door or say. The princess was frozen in shock. The king had a smug look on his face. The young man stood there in front of the right door not knowing what to do. The lover was looking at the young man thinking am i expected to be married to a man. Why is there no woman.

The king stood up from his throne. The audience silenced. The lover turned to the king waiting for him to explain whats going on. The king cleared his throat and spoke, You may be wondering why there is a man instead of the lady or the tiger. Well you see the princess told him to choose the right door which had the tiger!

There were some gasps from the audience and a pained look on the lovers face that she wanted him to die.

She wanted him to die instead of being married to another lady. She did that to save herself from hurt. How selfish of you my young child. To have him die would have been too easy and to have him be married to a lady would have been too painful for you my child. My solution is for him to marry a man! the king exclaimed.

The king looked at the lover who looked hurt and betrayed by his princess.

You have a choice marry this man or die! the king told him. The lover looked at the man, then the king than back to the man before looking at the princess. She had tears rolling down her cheeks. The lover looked her dead in the eyes with a cold voice he spoke, I wish to be married to this man.

The king nodded his head, the guards took him, and the man to the wedding alter. The princess was now uncontrollably crying that her lover chose to marry the man instead of die for her. She watched as the couple say their vows. She couldnt live her life knowing her lover is with someone else. She looked around to find something anything that she could stop the pain.

Finally, her eyes landed on a small dagger one of the guards had on his waist band. With a swift motion, she grabbed the dagger and stood up on the ledge in front of the whole arena. Her father cried out to her to get down and to stop what she was doing, once he realized what he had done. This caught the attention of her lover. He turned around to look at her with wide eyes.

He slowly shook his head from side to side telling her not to do it but she would not listen. Not to the audiences cries and shouts. Not to her father. Not to the man who she had loved. She stood there staring at him for a few moments she finally spoke. I will always love you no matter where Im. And with that, she drove the dagger through her broken heart and fell from the ledge.

She landed with a thud. Laying there motionless with a single tear escaping her left eye. The lover tried to run over to her but the guards stopped him from leaving the wedding alter. He was screaming and shouting for them to let him see her. The king stood up and looked over the ledge at his daughter surrounded in a pool of crimson red blood with the dagger still lodged in her heart.

The king looked up at the silent audience and then to the lover. Silence!! he shouted with a shaky voice. Once again, everything was silent including the lover who had tears running down his face. You will pay for what you have done. You shall be married within the next hour and from which you will be banished from my kingdom. If you return you shall be killed by the tiger then burned at the stake.

And with one final glance the king looked at his daughter lying lifeless on the dirty ground and turned away without a single word.