I listened eagerly behind the door I was caged inside. My heart was beating so loud I could barely hear. I didn't know when the man I could be married to would enter the arena. Minutes later, I heard a loud cheering and presumed the Princess's former lover was entering the King's arena. My heart suddenly jumped into my throat. I knew he was looking at his Princess instead of our King, and I knew his Princess hated me as much as she loved him. In one part of my heart, I pitied the young couple and felt a twinge of guilt as I might be snatching him away. But I also felt hatred toward the Princess for loving a man as good as him. Making a home in her malignant heart for him, only for thier love to be crippled and die out only months later. And what made my blood boil with all the barbarity she held in her heart for me, was to think of her deciding his fate for him. She decided if he would be torn apart or marry me.

I suddenly heard strong footsteps moving swiftly towards the doors. Again my heart leaped like a frog and nestled in my throat. His footsteps seemed confident and unwavering, so I knew his Princess told him which door to open. I prayed silently to anyone who would listen to have given the Princess something other than selfishness, spite, and jeolousy. Every particle in my being froze and I held my breath as I heard his last stride before reaching the twin doors. I knew he wouldn't hesitate, so I tried to ready myself for wedding bells and music in my last moments of waiting for the young man's fate.

The wedding bells never came. The only thing I could hear ringing in my ears was the roar of the tiger and the young man's pained wails as my body was racked with sobs and my heart shattered.