The Detective's Damsel

vi.

CORINNA STARED, SLACKJAWED, at the wall. Or more accurately, a staircase descending into a tunnel that had previously been a wall. Intriguingly enough, the exit of the secret room was not the same as the entrance. As Knight had explained, there was only one way in and one way out, making the place impossible to find if you didn't know it existed. It gave Corinna a bit of comfort to know that in terms of intelligence, the world had significantly increased over the last 455 years. There was enough enhanced technology that Corinna couldn't decide whether to be fascinated or fear it. 

The tunnel was dimly lit and extended far enough that she couldn't see a clear exit, but Corinna had no other choice other than to follow Knight. Unless, of course, she wanted to force the first doorway back open and risk exposing the top-secret experiment.

But that was a problem for Knight and everyone else here, not Corinna. For a split second, she had almost acted like she was a part of this world. But nothing she could ever do would change the fact that she belonged in a completely different place and time. 

A part of Corinna wondered what Niklos had done when he'd noticed her absence, if he had even noticed at all. How badly would Niklos truly mourn her? He was good at treating her like a stain on the floor, so surely he couldn't feign concern for her disappearance for too long. She had no idea if he would find out what Izsak had done, but her heart yearned for her chef's safety, knowing that Niklos would give him no mercy. 

Corinna forced her thoughts to return to the matter at hand. It didn't help that Knight had been watching her for the several moments she had disappeared into her mind and was still staring when she snapped herself out of it. After the incident in the accessories room, the pressure of his dark eyes on hers was far less menacing, but it didn't disguise the fact that he was completely and utterly fascinated with her. She supposed it was too much to ask to be treated normally. 

Especially since she'd spent the last 20 years of her life trying to stand out. 

"You okay?" Knight finally built up the courage to ask, after several long moments of silence.

Corinna let out a light laugh in spite of herself. "As okay as I can be, I suppose. I just can't help but imagine how my disappearance is being taken. My husband is most likely beside himself, not to mention the Baroness and my sister." 

Knight's eyebrow kicked up, and his lips seemed to twitch in the dim light. "Husband?" 

"Oh, yes, my dear Niklos," Corinna said with a loud sigh, surprised when her voice echoed off the walls. It was no secret how she felt about him; she only needed to hear his name before promptly suffering a headache. "Do tell me that you have done away with arranged marriages since my time." 

Her words seemed to amuse Knight, and the corner of his mouth tilted upward in a crooked smile. "Most of us have, yes, but some religions still enforce it. The United States doesn't have kingdoms or nobility to marry off to other countries anyway." He paused for a moment, but his curiosity seemed to get the better of him. "I take it your marriage isn't what you'd hoped?"

Corinna found herself telling him the truth. "No, not at all. I was hardly old enough to think for myself when it was arranged, and he is such a..." She trailed off. Under any other circumstances, she could never speak this way of her spouse. But she wasn't facing anyone's wrath except her conscience. "He is a selfish, arrogant man," she finally said. "He uses my status for his personal gain because he cannot accept that I am nobility, and he is not." 

Knight bowed his head in what looked like understanding, but she wasn't exactly sure how much of her situation he could possibly understand. Unless...

"Are you married?" Corinna asked. She hadn't thought so, but surely he was of age. 

Knight's eyes widened, and he let out a sharp laugh. "What? Of course not." Corinna must have looked unconvinced because he continued to stutter. "I, uh, marriage is a tradition that takes place much later in life than, uh, whatever it was 500 years ago."