The Lady or the Tiger Rated: T
The young man walked up to the right side door without hesitation and opened it without doubt. The princess had pointed to the right. It was a quick and swift movement but the young man understood. He trusted her completely but what happened next was unpredictable. The daughter was as spoiled and barbaric as her father. She would lose him either way. The question is how. Will she lose him to the lady she cannot stand most or the fearsome and bloodthirsty fangs of the tiger. But does she love him enough to set him free or will she send him into the afterlife and join him someday. She had made her decision.
The young man might run away and hide from the king and someday see the princess again. His only option was to run or be killed. Living an unhappy life was not an option. As long as the princess lived he would search for her till his last dying breath. The young man was relaxed as he opened that door, sure that his lover would want him to live so that they might meet again someday. He had complete faith in her.
The door was opened and inside it was… the menacing, bloodthirsty tiger. Its fur was red with dried blood. You couldn't see its orange fur, it was now blood red. It smelled of rotting human flesh and blood. It opened its mouth with menacing sharp blood stained fangs and let out a loud, ferocious, ear-piercing roar. Its eyes were colored amber and you could see it was ready to kill, but if you looked deep enough you could see anguish and despair in its eyes. The tiger was big in size but it looked like it hadn't been fed in days. The man was shocked that the princess had betrayed him but he was even more shocked when he saw a flicker of that anguish and despair. He was truly heartbroken and wanted to know why but he had no time to think. The tiger suddenly pounced and its huge, black, razor sharp claws just barely missed the man. The wild beast left a small cut on his left arm. The man quickly looked for a way out and saw nothing that would help him. The crowd was screaming and crying. It was a cruel thing to do. Some people knew him and cried but they also knew he was an intelligent man and that he would find a way to live. The man didn't see anything but the tiger and the gate behind it. The man knew that the tiger's door was right behind him and if he could get through there he would be free. Many people tried to escape the tiger's wrath by heading for the gate but were attacked and killed before they could escape. The young man tried to think of how he would get to the tiger's door. If he turned around the tiger would attack and wouldn't be able to dodge it. But if he could blind the tiger he could make his escape. All the guards came to watch the young man in the arena. No one ever went near the tiger's cage except to move him to a different door and even then they were terrified. The man had a plan.
He slowly lowered himself to the ground and took a handful of dirt. The king thought he was giving up. The king was wrong.
The man threw the dirt at the tiger's eyes and ran into its door. The tiger couldn't see and was running around the arena. The princess was surprised at what had just happened but then another emotion had overtaken her. It was Grief. She realized how much he had trusted her and she had betrayed him. The king was shocked he never anticipated this. He summoned the guards to capture the man and contain the tiger. The crowd was cheering and laughing and crying tears of joy. He had escaped the tiger but can he escape the king.
The young man saw the opened tiger's cage. It had many bones scattered across the straw covering the blood splattered floor. He went around the cage and made it to the door on the other side. He started to reach for the handle when he stopped. He heard loud footsteps and men shouting. The guards had found him. Without even thinking he had jumped into the tiger's cage and closed it. He quickly buried himself in the straw and bones. He had heard the door open and knew the guards had entered. He heard the opening of the cage door and a loud roar. Something big had entered the cage. As the guards left, the man slowly moved the straw so he could see. Inside the cage was the tiger.
The man was frozen with pure terror. It seems as though his luck had finally run out.