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The fair commoner ran whither thy princess motioned. Although he dost love her, trust seemed like many miles away. But was it his love or her father he couldn't trust? Heart pounding, hands trembling, he lay his seemingly pale hand on the florid knob. He turned once more to his beloved and noticed the king whispering to one of his men, who nodded uneasily. The commoner heard a muffled scream behind the door he was to open. Something wasn't right.

He quickly opened the door thinking that only the maiden was behind it, and there he saw her on the ground, bloody and lifeless. He heard a breath and looked up. There the tiger was clenching onto the maiden's arm with his piercing teeth. But how is this possible? Could it be the king planned an unfair retribution?

The commoner ran to the other door not knowing what hid behind it only to find that it was another one of those feline beasts. Without hesitation he shut the door and ran.

"Father," said the princess in tears, "how could you?" He responded in cold laughter.

"Hahaha. Now my darling, we will see if he is strong enough for you. He meddled with royalty, so the traditional rules don't apply. I asked my men to put tigers behind both doors, but I didn't think they would leave the maiden. Oh If only I didn't tamper, he could've been happy!"

Her love ran and ran around the coliseum. She couldn't bear to see him like that. He was defenseless. The princess's barbaric spirit rose, so she took out her sword, stole her father's own from his side and jumped. Her father's heart dropped. Luckily, the wall was not high enough to injure her tremendously. The commoner was astonished. With her leg wounded from the fall, she ran after him and threw him the stolen sword for she had her own. He sliced the head of one wretched beast. Little did he know the other was running towards him. Not prepared, he turned to see the tiger about to bite him. Just as it was so close, the princess jumped in front of him.

The commoner broke into anger and tears. The beast threw the princess's bloody body aside and pounced toward him. "You will die." he said gravely. He swung his sword at the tiger leaving it with many cuts, but it wasn't over. It jumped and bit his wielding arm. He dropped the sword but quickly picked it up with the other hand. Once more the beast pounced and the fair commoner swung the sword with all his might. Blood was everywhere. He had won. The creature was beheaded. He dropped the sword and ran toward the love of his life. He held her body closely and cried thinking she wouldn't make it.

"It truly was meant to be." she whispered. With great relief he held her closer and his tears of sorrow turned to joy. The people were upset with the king for what he did, so were his men. They didn't want a king dishonest enough to change tradition of the punishment. Years passed and now he was a commoner no more. He had married the princess and taken over the throne of her imperious father. The dire retribution was abolished. The former king was sentenced to live the rest of his life in the dungeon along with those who have committed wrong. The towns people celebrated almost everyday and the new king and queen lived happily ever after.