Sequel: The Lady or the Tiger

In a kingdom ruled by a vicious king, lived a commoner who was madly in love with the princess of the empire. Their affair was full of passion until the day when their strength of love was brutally tested in the trial arena. The commoner was vulnerably standing in the middle of the stadium, faced with two options that would determine his fate: either death or an arranged marriage. However, the princess possessed hidden knowledge of the choices behind the doors, allowing her to decide her lover’s future. She signaled to her lover with a gracious flick of her arm towards the door on the right, a grim realisation that only death would unite their hearts for eternity. The princess’s heart was filled with a sick possession and determination to keep her lover to herself, not wanting to share him, and without any bit of compassion. The door opened. The tiger was lying on the ground behind the door, licking its paw as if it had a feeling for a soon-to-come feast. It looked at the man standing in front of him, and a spark in its eyes appeared; the hunger finally kicked in. While the tiger stood up, the air dried up, the silence became sharp, and the eyes were all faced at the man; the man who was about to die in the name of love. 

As the ordinary man pushed the right door open, everyone gasped. The only one that remained still and unbothered was the princess as she made up her mind and accepted his death. The tiger stood up and slowly started walking towards the man, licking its sharp fangs. In a split moment, the lover’s eyes widened, not from fear but from the realization of the betrayal of the one whom he loved dearly and for whom he would die for. Once loving this woman, now he was left with this bitter truth, the horror of his situation. His initial horror quickly switched into a fierce determination. His whole life, he was taught that only he himself is the master of his destiny, and would not break this rule even in the face of this cruel death. So he vowed to himself that he would meet his end as a strong man, following his rules, and refusing to give the satisfaction of the show to the public of the arena and to the princess who wanted to see him broken, broken because of her. With his fierce determination, the commoner grabbed a tiny vial of poison, which he always had on a string that was buried near his heart, drank the poison, refusing to let another being take his life. When her lover drank the exquisite venom of death, the princess felt thousands of knives pierce her body, but this pain could not compare to the wound it created in her soul. Sitting in the royal box in agonizing psychological pain, she strangely felt a wave of relief– the realization that her lover would be hers alone, for eternity. Her mind started playing games on her, one moment imagining his death, the other envisioning heaven and how they both meet each other in the afterlife, embracing in an eternal pleasure of love and passion. While the princess was hallucinating, the king was oblivious to the suffering of his daughter, fully immersed in the spectacle. His barbaric nature was not able to catch the profound emotions of the first love, and the feeling the lovers experienced, the cruciating pain that was engraved into their hearts at that moment. King’s eyes were drawn to the entertaining spectacle and the plot he would have never expected, which further entertained his mind. 

Shifting back into the arena, the tiger sprang forward at the man with an echoing roar. The man, in the last moments before the animal’s claws sprang into his skin, consumed the toxic cocktail. His lips, previously as bright as the rose petals, in an instant became a byzantium color, extracting weird foam, and making his body tremble before dropping lifeless into the claws of the tiger. That moment signaled only one thing: he cheated his fate, he chose his own end. The tragedy one thought was over was only the beginning. In the shadows of the crowd, a figure lost in a black cloak was walking through the crowd, keeping his eyes on his target. It was the lover’s brother. He has been watching the entire spectacle from afar, evidencing hopes that turned into mourning for his brother, the commoner. Being the only one who witnessed the signals of the princess, the cruel spark in her eyes made him furious and sparked a desire to avenge his brother. Then, a risky but brilliant idea crossed his mind. Silently praying for a lucky strike, he spiked an arrow in the direction of the king's box. The arrow was sharp, not purely from the metal of its tip, but also from the hatred it contained; the hatred from seeing the death of someone dear. Within seconds, the arrow crossed the arena, striking straight into the soiled heart of the princess. Her navy blue silk dress covered in diamonds formed a scarlet stain, crumpling her delicate body to the ground. Within seconds, the princess died, ending her sinful existence, while the king’s joyful mood turned into horror. He rushed towards his lifeless daughter, roaring like a tiger and pleading the heavens for forgiveness of his sins just to save his daughter. Tears were streaming down his face, realising he lost someone irreplaceable, someone who lived in his heart since the day she was born; now, someone who could never return. 

Being known as the barbaric ruler, the king was now left in shattered pieces of happy memories of the times with his daughter. The sight of his daughter covered in red was as painful as if he were to ripen out his heart with his bare hands.  He took the young woman into his arms, crying for the first time in 20 years, standing vulnerable in front of the people he wanted to be seen as strong before. But now, he did not care anymore.​ The sunshine of his life was gone, and the rest of his barbaric nature had left with her. Now, people of the arena were seeing a human being, a human with pain, with vulnerabilities, and with emotions. His terrifying rule, founded on the force and pain of the commoners, has now crumbled. The king became a ghost, continuing to live his life, but mourning his daughter till the very end, not allowing closure for his heart. Every single day, the king was awakened in cold sweat, recalling every moment of that tragic day, blaming himself for that trial, and his barbarity. The burden he carried moving forward was ponderous, accompanying him for many years, making him repay the fortune for his barbaric rule and finally facing the consequences of something he was building with his power. Meanwhile, behind the left door, the bride was still awaiting her “Prince Charming,” who would give her a happy ending. However, as time passed, inexplicably, her head felt lighter, and her gut told her some bad news was about to be delivered. She brushed this feeling off as she never believed in her intuition, forcing herself to think about the bright future with her soon-to-be husband. Suddenly, the door opened, and her eyes caught a bloody bath of people she loved and hated the most: the man and the princess. Her legs felt as weak as her entire body, and she dropped unconscious. She felt as numb as if she were in sleep paralysis, wanting to scream but not being able to even cry. As soon as her soul came back into her physical form, the complexity of the event spiraled into her head, causing a spiral of many different feelings. The bride felt as if she was part of the reason for the death of the young man, enchaining herself onto his deceased soul, while also being relieved at having escaped an arranged marriage. While the princess thought in her final moments that she was the only one who truly possessed the man, the bride left part of her soul with the commoner, the man she did not even know, but someone she promised to learn how to love. 

The traumatic spectacle of the wicked love that killed the lovebirds surprisingly transformed the king. Before, being a tyrant, now reshaped his nature, changing the law systems he once considered entertaining into truly justified laws that benefited his people. The sorrow in his heart made the king evolve into a wise and compassionate leader, who now could understand a long-lost feeling of compassion and human nature. Realising his past mistakes, the king swore to himself that he would be the leader who would save people, becoming the first ruler in history to eliminate the law of execution. The bride, who gave her heart to the deceased commoner, was the woman who shared the man with the princess, not allowing the royal woman to achieve her plan even in the afterlife. The bride never married anyone due to the vow she gave that day to the man, the man who took her heart with him. She never devoted herself to anyone; however, the bloody scene she witnessed ignited a fiery desire for justice. The bride devoted her life to advocating for the victims of unfair power, becoming a royal judge in the palace, and being known as the “Judge of Heaven.” The kingdom that was once miserably surviving became one of the most powerful empires of that time, the power that came from the people, the commoners, who were finally free from the tyranny.