When Father found out I was seeing someone below our class, he almost had a stroke. To him, honor and dignity are more important than anything else, including me. I begged for forgiveness, but the evil man showed no mercy and set up a trial for six days later. I pressed guards and servants for information about the doors and the tiger, but especially the lady. My heart stopped when I learned who she was: Melissa, a beautiful servant who worked in the palace kitchen. The morning of the trial, I snuck into the kitchen with a dagger, but she was nowhere to be found. “She must have already left,” I muttered and ran the two miles to the stadium. By the time I took my seat by my barbaric and evil father, the trial was about to begin. My love came forth towards the stands and bowed before my father, his eyes never leaving mine. Before choosing a door, he looked at me. Quickly, I signaled him to the right. He hesitated before opening the heavy wooden door. The stadium gasped, then cheered when the maiden strolled out, smiling broadly. His face turned white as a sheet, then red with anger. Did he actually think I would kill him? Should I have? I wouldn’t have been able to watch my love be torn up right in front of me.
Father allowed me to congratulate the new couple, but I know that he just wanted to see me in pain. Father reached out to shake my love’s hand, but he refused to take it. Again, the stadium hushed, pained whispers permeate the tense air. Father slowly lowered his hand, the grin erased from his face. Then all chaos broke out. My love turned towards father and punches him in the side of his skull and in his wheezing throat. He falls to the ground, never to move again. As guards converge towards us, people pour down from the stands, fighting back. Melissa turns towards me with a dagger taken from the grip of a dying guard. She clumsily swings towards me, but trips over Father’s body. Falling, she drops the knife and it skids to my feet. Without hesitation, I turn and stab her, making sure the wounds are fatal.
Eventually, the fight ends, the peasants claiming victory. We kill off all other officials and begin creating a new government where trials are based on truth and facts, not luck and trickery. As for my love, we married soon after the battle and are now ruling as King and Queen. We deserted the castle and live in a small cottage in the center of the village. I’m glad that this whole thing happened, though. Without it, our country would still be suffering under the rule of my father.
Person vs. Self
Rosalie - this is well done! Very creative and a new twist on the story that I haven't seen.
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