Narrative Twist

“The Double Trial”

This is a plot twist for the short story "The Lady or the Tiger" by Frank Stockton.

What just happened: “Then it was that his quick and anxious glance asked the question: “Which?” It was as plain to her as if he shouted it from where he stood. There was not an instant to be lost. The question was asked in a flash; it must be answered in another.”

Her arms lay across the wall that protected her and the king from falling off the balcony. She quickly held up her right arm slightly, and then signaled for him to wait.

She turned and looked at the king. “Excuse me Papa,” she said to her father. “I can’t…  I can’t watch this!” She fled down the stairs, ran through the barely lit passageway, and into a dark room.

The princess’s lover waited one minute, and then slowly walked to the door on the right. When he got to the door, he hesitated. He looked up at the where the Princess used to be sitting and his smile faded. 

She abandoned me, he thought. He turned back to the door and took a deep breath. The crowd held their breath as he then opened the door on the right.

Standing in the middle of the room was the Princess. She had a knife in her right hand and the lady lay dead at her feet. Blood was spattered across the wall and the floor of the room.

The King stood, petrified. The princess just stood there, with the bloody knife in her hand, her eyes demonic. After the gasps had ended, the crowd was so silent, you could hear the drop of a pin. Ten of the King’s best knights quickly surrounded the princess, each with a sword in hand.

“Drop the knife!” they said. The princess did as she was told. She stepped out of the room, carefully set the knife on the ground, and kicked it over to the knights.

“Now!” she screamed. The Princess’s lover pushed one of the knights out of the way and scooped up the knife. He then killed two of the King’s knights. The other knights rushed to surround him, leaving the princess unguarded. She picked up a sword from one of the fallen knights and killed three more. Then, working together, they attacked the knights until all of them were dead.

The crowd was still dead silent, glued to their seats. The Princess and her lover dropped their swords, as he had picked up one too, and walked back through the door that he had entered the arena in. Even more knights surrounded the couple after they had gotten through the door. Since they had no weapons, they were both arrested and thrown in jail without a quarrel. The king could barely recognize her. It was as if a demon has possessed her. There was blood all over her body and her eyes were wild with hate.

The King had to think long and hard about putting her on trial. I mean, should he? Should he execute her? He obviously did not want his daughter to die, but he felt he had no choice. They had seen her commit the crimes.

She was obviously guilty, and guilty people must be punished. It was the law. 

People started advertising for the trial. Prices for the seats had been raised, but that didn’t stop people, for this was their favorite form of entertainment. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be at “The Trial of the Century”? The King’s men searched for the most handsome man they could find, and one of the most vicious tigers.

On the day of the trial, the amphitheater was completely full, which hadn’t happened in decades. The King sat in his throne, as white as a ghost as his daughter stepped into the arena. This time, the Princess had absolutely no idea which door had the tiger, and which had the man. She slowly walked up to the doors. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pointed. Her finger was pointed to the door on the right. She took another deep breath and opened the door.

A year had passed, and the King still had not gotten over the death of his daughter. He blamed himself, saying that it was his fault that she was dead. He prayed that he could take back the things he said, the things he did, everything. But he knew that he couldn’t take anything back. He knew that he couldn’t take back the things he did, he knew that he couldn’t take back the things that he said, and he knew that his prayers could not reverse the tragedy. He became obsessed with the thought that he killed his daughter. His mind kept replaying the situation. The tiger, the screams, the blood, the gasps of the crowd. He thought about it every waking moment. He became so obsessed with the horrible thought, that he felt he could not escape his own thoughts. He was furious with himself that he let that happen to his daughter. So, on March 19th, he joined his daughter in heaven.