Disclaimer : based on the short story Lady or the Tiger by Frank Stockton

♥ the lady or the tiger ♥

As we all wonder with the question in which whether the tiger or the lady came out, I am once again here to create another insane ending for this story.

The young man walked forth as his fingers gingerly wrapped the hilt of the door knob, he heard the door silently creak as he opened it partly.

He listened carefully, but no voice; no sound was indicated from the open gap he had opened.

He smiled at himself, looking back at the princess and lowering his head in gratitude, it should be the lady, for the tiger would not have been so silent once he smelled the fresh, bloody, flesh of man.

He swore he saw the princess herself smile, but he could not seem to perceive which smile she gave.

The king's fingers; full of rings; tapped lightly on the gold inlaid armrest of his chair as he stared impatiently down below, his heart rushing and beating furiously to know the young man's fate.

A few middle-aged plump men started stomping their feet on the wooden platform, creating a rhythm, the whole arena's eager cries soon joined in when they realized the chap was hesitating and having second thoughts when he already had the door half opened.

They heard a low growl, streaming softly like a melody to their hungry hearts.

The young man looked around him once more, the massive crowd in the colossal arena itself startled him, the choice of his life was now his to make, and the whole population had gathered there, merely to see him ripped off slowly by a ferocious tiger, or marry a beautiful lady in regret.

He opened the door, they both advanced to each other as glorious cries ruptured from the crowd, raising their arms together in symphony of the climax.

He knew now what to do, and his heart had not regretted loving the princess, she would always be there in his heart. He smiled and waved one last time, eye to eye, to his beloved as the crowd's cheers hoisted itself along with the advancing game.

He felt empty.

Blood rushed to meet with the dry earth as claws slashed through the air, through his flesh.

He looked at her as her last fading smile played inside his head.

He knew now. He knew.

It was a cold smile, with her routine of sadness tainting her pale splendor.

The fair maiden, behind the door, felt as if she could hear her own heartbeat beating rapidly flowing through her every vein.

She waited in the dark, fingers entwining as tints of pink tainted the pale complexion of her cheeks.

She counted the seconds.

Her mind lost concentration abruptly as she heard the blood-curdling shriek, loud and clear enough for her to hear from behind the thick layers of skin.

She clutched her dress tightly, silence.

Our fair maiden, the princess' greatest jealousy factor, immediately opened the door with a loud slam against the thick walls of the arena.

Her eyes met another pair of cold-blooded eyes of a murderer.

Once again, the tiger's sharp bloody claws swiftly glided through the air, ripping the blue satin dress she wore, her fair skin ripping in the process.

One more forbidding high-pitched shriek filled the arena as she too was ripped to pieces, joining her suitor.

The princess smiled menacingly as the shriek resonated and echoed throughout the place numerous times.

Well, at least it worked as a cover for her own shriek.

'Well then', the princess' bells jingled and clattered on her dress as she turned away to exit the arena, 'I'll see you in heaven'

'Dear Lover'

And so she walked out of the arena, and must I say, without looking back to the bloody mess.

A/N: I do hope you enjoyed that. It's a continuation of the short story, say, like a sequel, only exactly from the point it left off at. R & R!