A ferocious tiger leapt from the door, but William ducked and it flew halfway across the arena. This infuriated the tiger, but it wasn’t ready to give up yet. He almost taunted the tiger, motioning for it to come forward. It bent down on its haunches, getting ready for action. The tiger pushed itself off the ground with a mighty leap, but William jumped to the side while the tiger was in mid-air. It plowed into the cement wall with a sickening crack, a low growl escaping its muzzle. William saw his chance. He bravely went up to the injured beast and started stroking its tail. The tiger whipped its head around, snapping its jaws at William’s hand. He jumped back, not willing to let his hand, or his life, be taken away. The tiger weakly picked itself up. Blood was pouring from its snout and it was walking with a limp. They did a dance-like routine, circling one another; looking each other up and down trying to find weaknesses and strengths. Finally, William backed up to the wall, making everyone think he was surrendering. Sighs escaped members of the crowd. The beast pieced up every ounce of adrenaline left in its body and bounded towards William at full speed. Its eyes flicked away from its target for just a moment, and William jumped out of the way. The tiger didn’t have any time to react before plummeting into the wall.
Already injured, the tiger laid down. Its neck was snapped and it was paralyzed. Pain overtook the tiger as it gave up hope. Its chest heaved up one more time, then collapsed forever. The crowd erupted into an endless wave of sound. William’s body was drenched with sweat and he was shaking, but he was still alive and he wasn’t married. He defeated the beast! His victory suddenly sunk in and he leapt up and down. He had won! He could live happily ever after with the princess – finally!
The king made his way down to the arena floor to congratulate William on his victory. William searched the crowd and found the princess elated and struggling with the guards to let her down, but they wouldn’t let her though. The king came over and put his arm around William. He felt like the king himself! The crowd squealed, but not a happy squeal, a terrified one. Women trembled, and the princess collapsed into a ball at the guard’s feet. What was going on?
Just then William felt a sharp stab of pain in his abdomen. It grew sharper, more intense. The king grunted and shoved his sword deeper into William’s stomach. Blood formed a circle around the silver and then melted together into one big stain. The king gave one last push and then yanked the sword out and slid it back into his sheath. He walked away with dignity, proud of his actions. William staggered backwards, holding his bleeding wound. He collapsed onto the tiger, their blood forming one large pool. Then the king pointed towards the door on the right, and the second tiger bounded out, feasting on both of them.