19-year-old Elsa Arendelle stomped down the glass stairs of her studio harshly, muttering profanities and trying not to falter in her 6-inch Louboutins.
She reached the bottom of the stairs into her shop and buttoned up her wool magenta pea coat angrily, shoving her phone and apartment keys into her pocket.
Fucking Kristoff. Couldn't tell the difference between taffeta and chiffon.
She left the store keys on the counter, leaving Kristoff to lock up the studio/shop.
Elsa immensely regretted the decision to hook up her younger sister's boyfriend with a job at her pride and joy, Arendelle & co. Kristoff's job wasn't that hard in Elsa's opinion. She paid him to stock the fabrics, answer a few calls at the desk, and make sure Elsa had coffee in her hand.
Elsa was extraordinarily angry because he had screwed up the delicate fabric system in the studio, where Elsa and Rapunzel did most of their work.
Elsa had hired her flatmate, Punzie, to help her design and produce a year ago, considering her family had connections with famous designers and magazines, thus leading to Arendelle and co.'s rise in fame and success lately. She recently had to hire another employee, Merida Dun'Broch, due to the store's gain in popularity. They were even considering opening another store on the other side of the state.
However Rapunzel and Elsa didn't always get along perfectly, their styles varied greatly. Rapunzel was more frilly and girly, while Elsa's was more classic Hollywood glam. They were lucky that their styles could mesh when they needed to.
Elsa felt her phone vibrate through the thick wool of her coat. She pulled it out and grimaced at how late, or rather early, that it was. No one was even out on the streets. The phone call was from her sister, Anna. She answered the call.
"Why are you still up?" She said a bit sharply, her voice echoing through the vacant streets. Anna ignored the question.
"You could be a bit easier on him, y'now..." Anna said tiredly.
"Please," She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't that hard on him."
"He called me crying, Elsa."
"W-whatever. It's a fucking job, I pay him to to do what he's supposed to do, not to dick around."
A sigh came from the other side of the phone. Elsa didn't get a chance to continue her rant, considering a rather large man bumped very harshly into her shoulder. She stumbled back, but the tall man continued to walk on, seemingly unfazed.
"Um, excuse you?!" She yelled to the man who was already halfway down the street.
"Huh?" Anna said, confused.
"Nothing. This fuckwad just, like, plowed me over." There was a pause.
"Are we still on for lunch tomorrow?" Anna sounded hopeful.
Elsa bit her nails. She had a lot of work to do tomorrow, but she didn't want to let her sister down. "Of course. Do you mind if Punzie comes, too? If she's feeling better, that is."
"Even better! Well, I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."
"Night." Elsa could almost hear Anna's head hit the pillow before she hung up.
Elsa stared in confusion down her hall to her apartment, flat #53. The door was wide open.
Did Punzie forget to take her medicine? Goddammit I hope we weren't robbed.
She approached the door with caution, now noticing the sound of the shower running. She closed the door after seeing that all of the expensive vases were still in tact. Elsa sighed in relief. No smart burglar would miss those.
"Punzie?" Elsa removed her coat, hanging it on the coat rack. "Are you okay in there?" She figured the blonde would be asleep by now, what with the massive cold she has had these past weeks.
There was no response. Just the sound of the shower running. "Rapunzel...?"
Elsa approached the bathroom door, opening it slightly. She prayed to god that she didn't fall or hurt herself while she was gone.
She opened the door, an unfamiliar feeling filling her gut. Was it... fear?
She could faintly see Rapunzel's silhouette through the white shower curtain, her hands in her hair.
Elsa sighed, putting her hand on her chest.
"Rapunzel, Godammit! That wasn't funny!" She turned to the bathroom mirror, fixing her hair. Still no response from her roommate.
Elsa turned back around and stared at the unmoving silhouette. The feeling filled her stomach once more. All Elsa knew was that one second she was staring in confusion and the next she was ripping the curtain open, her confused eyes becoming filled with horror.
(A/N: Squeamish people are encouraged to look away from the next paragraph or so.)
Rapunzel was covered in blood from her neck to her ankles, the water from the shower just barely rinsing off dried blood from her left leg. Her long, blonde hair was slightly bloodstained and tied to the shower rod, giving her the appearance that she was standing. Her hands were weaved in her hair, giving the illusion that she had been washing her hair. Duct tape covered her mouth, a vomit-y substance was dried up under her nose.
Elsa didn't scream. She stared, breathing heavily, bile rising in her throat. This was her best friend, the only one besides Anna who would put up with her difficult ways and frequent mood swings. Her hand which was previously gripping the shower curtain was now covering her mouth. She was dead. Beyond dead. Her throat had been slit, with random stabs between her neck and ankles. She had suffered.
What scared Elsa the most were the words, smudged in blood, behind Rapunzel.
Lucky #53.
Elsa couldn't take the sight anymore. She turned around to the bathroom mirror, panting heavily. She could still see Rapunzel's dead green eyes every time she closed her own. She ran into the living room to get her phone, and with trembling fingers she dialed 911.
"Please, Miss. We need you to calm down. I've sent police your way." The soothing voice of the dispatch hardly reached over Elsa's sobs as she huddled in the corner. "Please tell me what happened again, calmly."
"I-I, um." Elsa fumbled her words.
"You came home from work..." She begun for Elsa.
"I came home from work, and I heard the shower running," Elsa took deep breaths. "So I went in the bathroom, and opened the shower curtain, and she... she," Elsa couldn't bring herself to say the word dead. Death wasn't for people like Punzie, who had so much potential, so much to give the world. Death was for elderly people, for sick people, for cold and cruel people. Not for people like Rapunzel.
When Elsa heard police sirens she hung up, and walked to the door, opening it the second they arrived at it.
She pointed to the bathroom as two policemen escorted her outside.
"Miss, do you have anyone you can stay with?" The one with the insane mustache asked her.
Elsa nodded yes, not believing how fast her life had changed for the worst.
"Would you like to answer some questions now, or wait until morning?" The other one, with quite a beer gut, asked her as she was led outside the building. There was an abundance of police and what looked like news vans began appearing. Soon flashes and questions were being thrown in her face. The police sat her in a car, it wasn't a police vehicle, it was a very nice, almost vintage-looking car. Most likely it belonged to a detective or crime scene investigator.
"Um, I'll answer now." Elsa just wanted to get everything over with.
The car zoomed off and a million thoughts swirled in Elsa's mind as she pulled her legs up in the back seat.
Who on Earth would have anything against Punzie?
As far as Elsa knew, Rapunzel had little to no enemies. She racked her brain, thinking of everything that had ever happened to her roommate, from what Rapunzel had told her.
She was born in Germany, she was kidnapped as an infant by some crazy lady, and returned to her family in America when she was five, um.
Elsa didn't get a chance to continue her thinking once they arrived at the city's police station.
"Miss, you're going to be interrogated by our top investigator, he is the best one this side of the state!"
Flynn Rider, so called 'top investigator' was currently throwing a foam ball against the wall, bored and not happy to be at work at almost 4 am. He was upset that the girl had decided to go through questioning now.
He put his blue foam ball back in his drawer and phoned his best friend, Hans.
"What the fuck Flynn? Its 4 am."
"Yeah. I know. I'm still at the station."
"Why?"
"Turn on the news."
Hans got out of his warm bed and did as told, turning on the TV in the living room. The sound of the reporter penetrated his ears.
18-year-old Rapunzel Corona was found by her roommate, 19-year-old Elsa Arendelle, murdered in her bathroom.
More images of the girls flickered on the screen, as well as footage of who Hans assumed was Elsa being escorted out of her apartment building, looking like a frightened bird.
Hams put the phone back to his ear.
"Yeah, so, I'm going to have to question this girl."
"She looks pretty innocent to me."
"Yeah, that's the thing. According to the information I already have, this is eerily similar to those two previous cases. Remember? Cinderella Tremaine was found murdered in her apartment, and found by her friend Aurora Rose, and the next week, Aurora was murdered. The same thing with Ariel Atlantica. She was found by her best friend Belle, and the next week, Belle was murdered."
Hans sat down, now genuinely interested.
"But here's where I'm positive these cases are connected. They all have something to do with the number 53. Cinderella was murdered on the 53rd day of the year, Ariel was murdered on her father's 53rd birthday, and Rapunzel was murdered in the 53rd apartment."
"Whoa." Hans breathed.
"Yeah. But here's the thing, if I'm right, which I know I am, that means that whoever murdered Rapunzel Corona is going to murder Elsa Arendelle next."
Hans opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Flynn.
"Okay. She's here now. I'll call you tomorrow" He hung up.
Hans fell asleep on he couch, knowing what his next job would probably be, considering he was a highly skilled body guard.
Once Kristoff Bjorjman, Anna Arendelle, and Merida Dun'Broch were called to the station, Elsa was almost immediately ruled out as the perpetrator.
There were three witnesses who could confirm that the designer was not neat the apartment during the time of the murder. (11:30-12:30) Although it wasn't ruled out that she was a possible accomplice.
"So. Miss Arendelle," Flynn began. "you say that you left the apartment for work at 9:00 am, correct?"
"Yes." Elsa kept eye contact with him, refusing to be intimidated.
"What was Miss Corona doing at the time?"
"She was asleep."
"So you left the door unlocked?" Flynn approached the table where Elsa sat, quirking an eyebrow.
"There's only one set of keys. She asked me the previous night to keep it unlocked so she could go pick up more medicine when she woke up."
"So why didn't you just leave the keys with her?"
"She was sick, constantly sleeping, very heavily might I add. Not to mention I don't come home from work until late, so it would have been impossible to wake her up to unlock the door had she been asleep." There was a pause.
"Did Miss Corona have any enemies, people who disliked her?" Flynn changed the subject completely.
"Not that I know of. She was loved by everyone who met her."
"That's a good opportunity for jealousy." Flynn muttered, jotting down something on his notebook. "Jealousy is a good motive for murder."
Elsa had never thought of that before. There had to be people out there who were jealous of Punzie, she was rich, beautiful, and working for one of the most prestigious and upcoming stores in the fashion world.
Hell, I'm jealous of Punzie, and its my store!
Flynn noted her silence and thoughtful expression. He didn't believe Elsa had anything to do with Rapunzel's murder. He just wanted to know every detail, he didn't want to miss a thing.
"Okay. We're almost done."
Thank God.
"Just tell me one more time the events as you left work last night."
"I yelled at Kristoff for screwing up the fabric organization, I left him to lock up shop, my sister called me, this guy bumped in to me-"
Flynn's head snapped up. This was news. "Someone bumped into you?"
"Yeah, it was this guy, well, it could have been a woman, I don't know. They were the only other one on the streets." Elsa waved her hand in the air, not remembering.
Flynn got close again. "Tell me everything about the person. What were they wearing? How tall were they?" He encouraged her to continue.
"Um, I think they were wearing a trench coat, a really dark grey one." Flynn wrote down everything she said. "They were abut this much taller than me, but I was wearing 6-inch heels." She motioned a few inches above her head. "Their feet made clicking sounds, so it could have been heels or just fancy work shoes. They were wearing a hat, not like a cap, but not like a fedora either." Elsa wracked her brain for every detail. "I didn't get a good look at their face, but they could have been wearing sunglasses, maybe." There was a pause of silence, nothing but the sound of Flynn's pen scribbling.
"Okay. One more thing."
"I thought we were done." Elsa said, exasperated.
"Well, this one concerns your safety." Flynn said a bit sharply, not appreciating the blonde's attitude. "You're going to need a body guard for the time being."
"Excuse me?" Elsa's eyes widened. "What you talking about? I can take care of myself just fine, thanks!"
"Look, Elsa. Rapunzel's murder is quite similar to some other cases-"
"So?" Elsa interrupted him.
"So, here's how the other cases happened: girl gets killed when no one's home, friend/roommate finds her, one week later, friend gets killed."
Elsa stared at him in silence.
"Oh, I forgot the best part." Flynn laughed. "They all have to do with the number 53. The first was killed on the 53rd day of the year, the second one was killed on her father's 53rd birthday, and Rapunzel was killed in apartment 53, and all victims had something to do with the fashion industry."
He sat down across from Elsa, pulling out some papers from a folder.
"Cinderella Tremaine." He showed Elsa her papers. "She was the world's youngest upcoming model. Her late father owned Cinderella Couture, she modeled for the company against her stepfamily's wishes. She was killed earlier this year. Her stepfamily were ruled out as suspects, etc., etc." He pulled out more papers. "Her friend Aurora found her all strung up in her closet, and a week later, Aurora was killed in her own home."
That feeling from earlier filled Elsa's gut again, making her feel very unsafe and uncomfortable.
"The same thing happened with Ariel Atlantica, top designer for her father's company, Atlantica. She was found shoved in a cabinet by her roommate Belle. A week later, Belle was murdered in her hotel room."
There was silence. Elsa wrung her hands together nervously. Flynn stood up.
"We're not going to force you to have a bodyguard, but it's your call."
Plus Hans needs someone to keep him company. Give him a social life. Flynn thought.
"Um." Elsa tried to begin. "What does that entail? Exactly?
"Well, until we find whoever killed Rapunzel, you'll be kept under his watch."
"His?"
"Yes. Our top bodyguard, Hans Anderson. He'll keep you safe-"
"I have a business! I can't be kept under house arrest! I'm not going to let my father's business go to shit because I can't be there!" Elsa began to get worked up again.
"Whoa. Whoa. No one would be under house arrest. We could work with your schedule. Whoever we're working with is sneaky and smart, so it's in our best interest to keep you safe, and have someone with you wherever you go."
Elsa breathed heavily, calming down. "Okay." She muttered.
"Great." Flynn began packing up. "I'm afraid we won't be able to appoint you with your guard until morning, so just please stay safe with your family until then. We'll call you in the morning."
"Thank you." Elsa said, regaining her superior aura. She stood up and walked out, her head held high.
Flynn laughed at her sassy composure and called Hans once more.
"Flynn?" Hans sleepy voice questioned.
Flynn grabbed his suitcase and strolled out of the station, thinking about how Hans's and Elsa's personalities would clash. Most likely hilariously.
"Grab your ice skates, buddy. Hell's about to freeze over."
