Well.
Of all the things that could've happened to her, Elsa will admit that this wasn't the worst. Sure, she had a prince interrogating her about his mother every other day, but hey, she was away from her stepsister and stepmother - although she would have liked to chat with Allegro again after the little ball fiasco. Speaking of which...
"I'll ask you again. Why did you kill my mother?"
Elsa rolled her crimson orbs, twirling a lock of ruby hair around her finger, before giving an exhausted huff. "I told, I didn't. Besides, your logic is rather flawed. If you suspect someone's a murderer, you normally arrest them, not marry them." She gave him a crooked smile. "Unless you're falling for me already?"
Aren scowled. "We can do this all day, Elesis."
Elsa scowled back. "Don't you dare call me that again."
A sigh escaped Aren's lips. He was fairly sure that just questioning her wouldn't get the crimson-haired lady to confess, but he would rather question her than torture her. He was much to gentle for that. Just as he was about to ask her again, the doors flung open and a pale girl with ebony hair dashed in.
"Aren! You have a fiancée?! Why wasn't I told?!" Her golden eyes flicked over to Elsa. "Is that her? Aren." She smirked, putting her hands on her hips. "I didn't realize you had such good taste." Elsa flushed.
"W-What?"
Rolling his eyes, Aren chuckled, standing up to ruffle his sister's hair. "Ara, that's enough. Oh, this is Elesis, by the way. We've been engaged since yesterday."
Elesis' eyes flashed darkly. "I told you to call me Elsa, silly. I'm guessing this is your younger sister?" God how she hated playing the loving fiancée. Someone please kill her before she actually ended up MARRIED to him.
Ara beamed. "Yup! That's me! It's nice to know that my brother actually picked out a pretty girl. Hey, do you know how to use a spear?" Aren's eyes widened.
"Ara! I thought I told you not to continue with that dangerous sport! It's unbecoming of a princess." Elsa grinned slyly. Time to make Aren's life like hell.
"Well, I do know how to use a sword. I could teach you, if you'd like."
Ara's eyes lit up. Aren glared at her. Elsa laughed. "Really?! Aren, you really did pick the right girl!"
Aren sighed. This was going to be a long week.
It only takes seven days to fall in love with someone.
On Monday, Elsa taught Ara how to use a sword, much to Aren's annoyance. He couldn't help but notice that she was rather good with the sword, so he left to investigate her past.
"Her father and brother are military men, hmm?" He watched as the redhead ducked, parrying an invisible blade and chopping it down on a straw dummy's head. "Someone in the military would certainly have the training to kill someone, but they would also have the chivalry not to..." An image flashed by in his mind. His mother, covered in blood, multiple gaping wounds in her chest, placed almost messily. He shuddered. "But wouldn't someone with military training try to kill her quickly?"
He left after that thought. Elsa had to be the killer, who else could've done it?
On Tuesday, he caught Elsa humming while she was embroidering a dress rather skillfully.
"What?" She said. "One of the older maids needed some help repairing your sister's dress, so I volunteered. It's boring to just sit and embroider. Jeez, it's not like I'm going to trigger some sort of bomb!" She did trigger a bomb. A mental bomb. The song she was humming was a song his mother used to sing all the time, whether she was happy or sad.
But why would a murderer take the time to learn a favorite song of someone who's going to die? He left even more confused than before.
On Wednesday, Elsa found Aren in the stables, brushing a gray horse.
He was whispering to it softly, stroking its white mane. "Such a good girl." A beam of golden light fell on him, wreathing him in its warm arms. He seemed to glow, and even though it was one of those incredibly clichéd moments, Elsa felt her heart thudding painfully loud in her chest. Face somewhat flushed, she ran out of the stables, nearly crashing into Ara. Ara let out a small shriek, before grinning.
"I take it you saw the stables?" Elsa nodded, somewhat at a loss of words. "Aren really loves his horse. It's one of the few things he's ever truly loved." She sighed, her bright eyes misty as she recalled the past. "After our mother died, he closed up, shutting almost everything out. He would only let me and his horse in."Closing her eyes, Ara smiled slightly. "You know, I thought that he would never change. But then he found you... I never would've guessed that he would end up with a fiancée, never mind one who cares so much about him."
Elsa froze at that sentence. She and Aren were technically engaged, but that's only because he wanted answers from her. Great. Now she was beginning to feel bad. "Y-Yeah. I'm glad that we met, too." Strangely enough she meant what she said.
On Thursday, Aren found himself admiring Elsa's beauty.
He adored the way her fiery locks spilled past her shoulders, how her crimson eyes lit up with delight every time she laughed. Aren watched Elsa intently as she chased one of the maid's sons around the yard, smiling as she scooped up the small boy and ruffled his hair, laughing as he squirmed to get away from her.
"She would be a great mother..." The words slipped past his lips before he could catch himself. Flushing, he took his leave rather hurriedly before Elsa could see his bright red face and mock him for it.
Why had he even said that?
On Friday, one of the maids had decided to throw a small engagement party for Aren and Elsa. Nothing fancy, just a simple celebration complete with a small cake.
Elsa, who had decided to wear more casual clothing, had been swept aside by the teenage son of the royal butler. "I've never seen you before. What's a pretty girl like you doing here without a date?" Elsa flushed, unsure if it was because of embarrassment or anger. The teenager swept his sandy fringe to the side before continuing. "You really are lovely. Even more beautiful than the princess!"
Before Elsa could respond, a strong hand was wrapped around her waist. Looking up slightly, Elsa saw that it was Aren, arms firmly wrapped around her waist, scowling at the sandy-haired teen. "I must ask you to stop harassing my fiancée. You are making her rather uncomfortable." Elsa flushed, why was Aren getting all protective?
The teen scowled back. "How was I supposed to know she was your fiancée, being all dressed up like a country bumpkin like that?!" Aren's scowl deepened. Caught in the middle, Elsa tried to defuse the situation.
"Now, now, no need to get mad, Aren..."
Aren glared at the teen. "Elsa is most beautiful when dressed casually. It is one of her many charms." With that, he swept a fiercely blushing Elsa away.
He spent the rest of the engagement party with an arm wrapped around her waist.
Saturday was somewhat eventful, Aren taking Elsa out on a picnic.
They sat in the cool shade of a large oak tree, watching as the puffy clouds sweetly floated past, a gentle breeze grazing their skin, teasing Elsa's ruby locks into motion. Elsa nibbled on a sandwich, watching Aren out of the corner of her eye, finding that he was doing the same.
Blushing furiously, both looked away, before Aren attempted to break the awkward tension. "So, what do you, uh, what do you like to... um... y'know... What do you like to do?" He finally bit out, refusing to make eye contact with the redhead. Elsa giggled.
"I don't like being 'girly' and feminine, I'd rather run around outside with the men and fight my own battles. All that girl fighting, with your words and your actions, deciding who's at the bottom of the pyramid before the battle even begins... I hate it. Women are more frightening than a six-foot tall man with a bloody axe in one hand, because they do all their fighting quickly and quietly. At least with a man you can see their attacks, deflect them, predict them. A woman is much harder to handle." A crooked grin spread across her face. "I hope you don't mind that your 'fiancée' is so masculine."
Aren let out a loose chuckle, leaning back against the tree. "Not at all. I think you're already incredible the way you are." And he kissed her.
Of course, he fled immediately after with a burning face, leaving Elsa with an even brighter blush, if that was even possible.
On Sunday, Aren asked Elsa about his mother's murder once again.
"Elsa... You weren't the one who killed my mother, right?" Elsa let out a slow breath, nodding as she searched for the right words.
"It's the truth. But... I think I know - no, I'm certain that I know the one who killed her." Aren's eyes widened.
"You wouldn't tell me anything before besides that it wasn't you... Why tell me now?" Elsa closed her eyes, her hands fidgeting restlessly. It was a habit that she picked up from her brother, a signal that she was rather nervous.
"Well... I... I..." She looked away. "Never mind. Let me tell you what I know now to make up for my attitude." Holding a hand up, she cut Aren off before he even opened his mouth. "I really do insist, Aren." Over the past week, Elsa had ended up not using Aren's title when she addressed the raven-haired male. "Before the ball, before all the invitations were sent out... My step-mother dropped a pot, and in that pot... There was a knife."
Aren arched one delicate eyebrow. "And how can you be sure that it was your step-mother who killed my mother?"
Elsa looked up. "The blood on the blade. It was too nice to be one for cutting meat, not made for that, either. A six-inch blade with blood stains all the way up to the hilt? Yeah right."
Aren sighed. "Elsa, that's a very large accusation you're making." Elsa scoffed.
"Says the one who made me his fiancée because he thought I might be his mother's killer. Besides, I know something else. I'm not stupid enough to think that she's the murderer based off a knife, you know."
"You seem like you would."
Elsa stuck her tongue out playfully at Aren, before her face fell into an expression of complete seriousness. Standing up, she went over to the dresser in the room and dug around the top drawer, before pulling out a key chain, tossing it to Aren. Nimbly catching it, Aren examined it. "This... This belonged to mother! Why do you have it?!" Elsa snorted.
"Don't get your pants in a twist, Aren. As for why I have it, I did some snooping around in Karis' room and I found it. See the engraving on the back?" Aren flipped over the smooth, silver piece, finding a small engraving with his, Ara's, his father's name, and his mother's name. It was also stained by dried blood. "My step mother has a similar key chain. She must've taken your mother's by mistake, and only realized that it was hers after she was killed. Understand?"
Aren nodded numbly, eyes glued on his mother's name. Elsa sighed, looking away. "I guess we should end this façade now, too. After all, you found your mother's murderer. You don't need me anymore." Golden eyes widened, turning around to gape at Elsa.
"What?!"
Elsa didn't make eye contact. "You heard me. I'm not needed, you can just... break off this engagement and... and... I'll leave. You don't need to pretend to... love me anymore."
Aren stood up, totally forgetting about the key chain in his hands, letting it clatter to the floor as he swept the redhead up in a massive hug, one hand buried deep in her ruby hair, his chin resting on her shoulder. "Don't you dare leave me."
Elsa blushed. "Wha-"
Aren cut her off by suddenly letting go of her, looking at her apprehensively. "Don't you dare leave me, Elsa. Don't even think about it."
Elsa shook her head, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "But you don't need me! Why should I stay?!"
Kneeling down on one knee, Aren looked up at Elsa pleadingly, holding her hand reverently. "Elesis Sieghart, I love you. Will you marry me?"
They were wearing matching engagement rings by the afternoon.
It was a foggy day, moist with humidity that clung uncomfortably to you like a wet woolen shawl. Lone footsteps clattered down the dark streets, as a hooded figure strode towards a magnificent mansion. He paused in front of its doors, pulling out a slip of creamy white parchment from his black cloak.
C,
They have uncovered my blunder. The nosy children. Should we be able to take over this kingdom, they must be eliminated. Please see to it.
K
The hooded figure sighed. "She is as inarticulate as ever, I see. And what is with those lousy code names? What happened to mine?" The figured huffed childishly, before leaping over the wrought iron gate with ease. Sauntering up to the mansion, he climbed up the ivy that twined its way up the walls, opening the third window to the right and clambering through with relative ease. He was immediately greeted by the owner of the mansion, who tapped her slipper-clad foot impatiently.
"You are really such an annoyance. Do you know how late it is?!" The hooded figure chuckled, pulling back his hood, revealing messy, artfully spiked blonde hair, russet tips gleaming in the candlelight. Cerulean eyes glimmered with mischief.
"Why, m'lady Karis, you should know that Midnight Rakshasa only operates at midnight or later. After all, you were once a member." Karis scowled, tossing her raspberry hair.
"I trust you received my letter, correct?" The blonde male snorted.
"Your lack of eloquence is startling. Plus, what happened to MY code names? I thought that White Wolf and Succubus Queen are pretty cool." Karis' scowl deepened.
"We are not here to play around, Chung."
Said boy narrowed his eyes, pinning the maroon-haired woman with an icy glare. "Yes, we are here to clean up YOUR mess. All because you can't destroy your evidence properly." He strode forward menacingly, the scowl scrawled across his face unfitting one of his good looks. "It was a simple task, Karis. Stab the queen and get out. And what do you do? Bring a damn key chain with you. You think that with that maid girl cleaning your room every day the key chain you took from the queen would be safe in a jewelry box?!" Before Karis could react, a shining silver pistol was pointed at Karis' head. "I should kill you here and now." Karis shuddered.
"You wouldn't..."
Chung smirked icily, making Karis tremble in fear. Although he was young, Chung rose through the ranks of the Midnight Rakshasa quickly, and was known for his brutality and viciousness. "Oh, but I would. Unfortunately, we still have some use for you. Consider yourself safe. For now." Withdrawing his gun, Chung glared at Karis. "And now, shall we get down to business?"
Karis grimaced. "Yes, m'lord Chung."
Aren sat hand in hand with Elsa, happily enjoying the peace. Karis was set to be arrested in a little under a day, and he and Elsa were going to be married at the end of the week. Ara was busy fawning over how magnificent the wedding would be, already teary-eyed although nothing had even happened. And then everything went downhill from there.
A gunshot resounded through the garden, blood seeping out from Ara's white garments. She clutched her chest, gasping for air as the bloodstain around her heart grew larger and larger. Elsa shrieked, before diving for cover, Aren behind her. Looking back at Ara, Aren's heart broke as he saw that his precious sister was already dead.
Guards filled the courtyard, but they were taken out one by one through well-placed bullets to the head and other vital organs. Rolling behind a fountain, Elsa narrowed her eyes, attempting to locate her assailant. A blur of black caught her attention, as she spotting a young man running across the rooftops, two silver guns in his hands. Darting out, Elsa ran into the castle, where she was greeted by a frightened looking blonde maid. "Lady Elesis, please come with me! We must get you to safety!" Nodding, Elsa ran behind the maid, who lead her deep into the castle. "Quickly, up these stairs!" Dashing up the stairs two at a time, Elsa and the maid burst out into a small room at the very top of a tower.
"Why did we go here?!" The maid smirked, tugging on her hair, the wig falling away to reveal spiked hair.
"Don't like your coffin?" Elsa narrowed her eyes, sizing up the man.
"A decoy on the roof, hmm? Unfortunately for you, I've learned to never go anywhere unprepared." With a flourish, she drew a slender sword from the skirt of her dress, quickly tearing off part of it so she could move. Pointing her sword at the man, she narrowed her eyes. "Who are you and what are your intentions?!"
The blonde smirked. "Chung Seiker of Midnight Rakshasa."
Elsa's eyes narrowed into slits. "The assassin's guild?"
Chung beamed, clasping his hands together innocently. "You've heard of us? Good, then you should know that none of our targets come out alive."
Elsa smirked arrogantly, lazily running a hand up her blade. "Then I'll be the first." Without waiting, she dashed forwards, stabbing her sword out lithely.
Chung laughed, before leaping to the side, pulling two silver guns from his skirt (In another situation, Elsa would've laughed at the man), blocking the stab with one, the other aiming to slam down on her skull. Parrying the attack, Elsa leapt back, rapidly approaching again and bringing her sword down with all her weight onto his gun. Chung blocked, firing with the other one. Rolling to the side, Elsa chopped down again, this time even more viciously. Chung felt his knees beginning to buckle under her force. "Ah. So that's your tactic."
Suddenly increasing in speed, Chung launched to the side, sweeping her feet out from underneath her with a well-placed kick. Jerking forwards, Elsa turned mid-air, hoping to land a blow on her blonde assailant. Leaning to the side, Chung smirked, bringing the end of his gun down heavily on Elsa's skull before she could react, connecting with a sickening crunch. The redhead fell, slumping to the ground. Chung sighed, picking up the redhead with one hand. "How should I do this?"
Down in the main part of the castle, Aren was scrambling around in a desperate attempt to find Elsa. "Elsa! Where are you?!" Frantically dashing around, he scoured the castle, before bumping into a fair, blonde maid.
"Prince Aren! Come quickly, please! I saw Lady Elsa being chased by a man in black!" Aren's blood ran cold.
"Where?! Which way did they go?!" The maid took off, running surprisingly fast even though she was in a dress.
"Please follow me!"
Running through the castle, Aren recognized the path they were taking. "The tower?!" He muttered, growing more worried by the second. Dashing up the stairs, he burst into the tower, only to see nothing out of the ordinary... Besides the fact that Elsa's sword was leaning against a wall, and that crimson drops of blood splattered the ground. "What happened?!" A sharp pain tore through his side, as he turned to see the blonde maid snarling viciously, a silver dagger buried deep into his flesh.
"Ah, well you see, behind this wall here..." The maid tore out the dagger, before tapping the wall that Elsa's sword was leaning against with her - no, his, as he removed his wig - knuckles, chuckling as he observed Aren's horrified expression. "Elsa's there. No worries, she's not dead... yet. Although you'll be dead soon."
Coughing up red globs of spittle and blood, Aren glared at the blonde. "How dare you?!" He coughed again, a tremor running through his body.
The blonde shrugged. "It's kinda my job. Sorry, I don't like tearing lovers apart like this, but..." Leering, the blonde tapped the barrel of his gun to his head. "...It's so much fun, isn't it?" Waving a hand airily, he kicked Aren, sending him crashing against the wall that Elsa was trapped behind. "Have fun now. You'll probably die in, oh, five or so minutes, so say bye." Closing the heavy door behind him, Aren heard the telltale click of the lock.
Weakly looking back, Aren clawed at the wall. "Elsa! Elsa, are you alright?" There was a muffled groan and the rattle of what sounded like chains.
"A-Aren...? Where am I...?" Aren let out a shaky breath, wincing.
"A man trapped you behind a wall - urk..." Clutching his wound, Aren sank to the floor.
"Aren?! Aren, are you alright?!" Aren let out a ragged breath, leaning against the wall.
"I got stabbed. But I'm fine. Are you alright?" Elsa let out a cry of outrage. Aren chuckled, imagining her flaming red eyes, seeing her put her hands on her hips indignantly, before wincing out again.
"You've been stabbed?! Worry about yourself, you idiot! I'll be fine!" Aren shook his head, knowing all too well how this story would end.
"Elsa... You'll suffocate. I'll... I'll die before someone finds us. I only have a few minutes left." Gritting his teeth, Aren stood up as best he could, placing a hand on the wall. "I just want you to know that you've been the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you, Elsa."
Elsa let out a strained sob. "I love you too, Aren."
The Royal Guard found the body of Aren an hour after the attack on the palace in the tallest tower. His fiancée's body was never found. Aren had a peaceful smile on his face, despite all the blood that surrounded him. On a wall, written in the prince's loopy, elegant handwriting, was a message.
I love you, my dear Cinderella.
Me: So... how many childhoods did I destroy today?
Eve: *still counting* The number has passed fifty...
Elsa: YOU. YOU KILLED ME.
Aren: Don't forget me!
Ara: And me!
Chung: You made me the murderer! :(
Me: Oi, I have a very good reason.
Elsa: And that is...?
Me: Entertainment value. *shot by Chung*
Rena: Oh my... Now I'm very scared for my safety.
Raven: You should be.
Me: I'm not going to kill EVERYONE... Just a couple of people...
Elsword: Dear gosh, this is going to be terrifying.
Me: You bet! ON TO REVIEWER REPLIES!
Yami - Ah, that was the point, because in 3rd person you use names, but I need people to guess the pairings, so... giving them names would be bad XD And yes, Aren is a jerk and Elsa is a not-so-helpless Cinderella.
Orithia - Aren is just Aren and has no class XD But yeah, he's the real prince... Fairy godmother Allegro to the rescue! You're right, Allegro is pretty cute in a fairy outfit XD Good stories are super rare nowadays... Still waiting for that PM! :P
Guest - Yesh, she is a betch.
AishaElementalMaster - Oh, so that's what you meant! Makes sense XD Ara got Aren engaged...?
Ephema - Time to kill that fangirl mode by killing both Elsa AND Aren! XD /slapped
Cloudy Rabbit - ...Nope. Sorry :P But yeah, I'm definitely continuing it, but I'll probably be slow with updates.
SmileAwai - CURSE YOU TOASTED INTERNET! Time to tread on it more~ Hopefully this satisfied you!
Vahlite - No worries, I do that too XD Yes, Aren is an idiot. GO ALLEGRO!
Me: We're done. So, this marks the end of the first arc!
Aisha: This is also the longest chapter Rosa's ever published! *tosses around confetti*
Chung: Congrats!
Me: So, on to the next arc! The next story arc is...
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
Raven: Don't forget to R&R.
Eve: See you next chapter.
Aisha: Hopefully we won't die...
Me: Love y'all! Chu~
