The Detective's Damsel

viii.

ONLY THE CRICKETS witnessed the girl when she exited the residence hall. A slight wind rustled the trees, causing bumps to form on her exposed skin. It was the dead of night, a few bulbs of light on the path the only objects showing the way. Corinna should have felt relieved—she'd already survived the elevator, not to mention a sleeping Zach at the front desk (though she supposed it would take a rather loud instrument and maybe a bucket of freezing water to wake him up). But instead, she felt tense. 

After arriving at her quarters the previous day, Corinna found it impossible to clear her mind. How did these people expect her to sleep after everything she had learned? Not that she would want to sleep even if she could. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see the red glinting on the edge of a knife and Elizabeth's wide eyes upon being caught in the act. 

It meant nothing, of course. It couldn't be anything other than Corinna's subconscious playing tricks on her.

An especially vicious gust of wind tossed Corinna's loose hair into her face and sent a chill up her spine. Being alone in the darkness triggered the memory of what had happened only a day before in the alley. She cast a wary glance in all directions, half-expecting Knight or Ivan to pop up out of nowhere. When they didn't, Corinna let out a long breath and pressed forward, pressing her palms to her arms in an attempt to preserve the warmth. 

She had work to do.

This time, when she pressed her finger to the black box on the side of the building, the light turned green and the door clicked open. It was pitch-black in the classrooms and the hallway, but Corinna's hesitance turned into determination when the elevator doors shut in front of her and she began her ascent. 

To her slight surprise, the computer lab was completely empty, though a few of the computers were still lit up as if recently used. Corinna let the glass door shut behind her as she made her way to a far corner. If anyone were to walk in on her, she wouldn't be easily noticed.

Mimicking Ivan's actions from the day before, Corinna successfully started the computer. The brightness from the screen startled her, sending her into a minute or so of sporadic blinking. When her eyes adjusted, she moved the mouse—what a strange name for an object—to the search bar. As it did before when Ivan looked up her family history, pages of information appeared on the screen. 

Corinna let out a slow, even breath. She had to remind herself that she had a right to know everything AIMA knew about her family, even if it meant hiding what she knew about their future from them for the rest of their lives. 

Some things are worth the risk, she told herself, and began to read. 

Báthory ("brave")

A legendary account places the origin of the Báthory name in the year 900 (preceding the advent of the Gutkeled clan). The story relates how the warrior Vitus (a member of the first generation of the Gutkeled clan) set out to fight a dragon, which lurked in the swamps next to the castle of Ecsed and harassed the countryside. Vitus killed it with three thrusts of his lance and as a reward received the castle.

The Báthory family belonged to the Gutkeled clan for several centuries, tracing its descent to brothers Gut and Kelad, who immigrated into Hungary from the castle Stof during the reign of King Peter (reigned 1038–1046).

Later, in 1279, King Ladislaus rewarded 4 men: Hodos, George, Benedict, and Briccius for their military services by granting them Bátor (an estate) in the county of Szabolcs.