They had moved from the kitchen to the spare bedroom, because Frankenstein was not going to perform business where he cooked.

Raizel stayed still, holding his shirt up to expose his side. Frankenstein tried to suppress his surprise when he first saw the wound. The injured area was red and inflamed, but otherwise closed. Frankenstein made a mental note of the supplies he would need to bring the inflammation down. But he could not contain his intrigue at the proof of Noble's rapid healing abilities. As always, his scientist mind fought with his medical side as he reminded himself that he had a patient before him, not research material.

His wandering eye noticed how the inflamed coloring of the skin stood out against the paleness of the Noble's body. Raizel was two shades away from matching the color of the white sheets on the bed. Biting the inside of his cheek to ward off the frown, Frankenstein once again noticed how small the Noble was. He made another mental note to give the Noble some bread and soup.

Stepping away, Frankenstein slipped his glasses off. "Your wound is healing up pretty well, though I am not surprised." Safely pocketing his glasses away, he gave Raizel a small smile. "However, I have a concoction that will bring the inflammation down." He made one last mental note to mention at some time that the Noble visit outside for some more sun. Anything to remedy that pale complexion.

Frankenstein paused when he realized his thought process. Only now did he just realize that he was thinking about telling a Noble what to do. His brow furrowed at the thought. Not only that, but was the Noble really his responsibility anymore? He could only assume that the Noble would be on his way to Lukedonia now that he was fully functional.

Not to mention, it was most likely best that the Noble leave as soon as possible. Keit and the soldiers had already seen his face in the coffin, and Frankenstein did not want to be the one explaining why the corpse was suddenly walking about. It was probably best for him that the Noble vanish, and with him, the troubles.

One more glance at his patient, and Frankenstein re-evaluated his thoughts. Just because Raizel appeared fine did not mean he was fully recovered. He knew first hand how deceiving the body could be, especially when someone was suffering from internal injuries. Even now he could feel the dipleated energy from him. He still looked so fragile, despite the amount of power fluctuating from him.

Frankenstein's eyes narrowed. No, that didn't seem right. His power was not fluctuating from him. This power was consuming him!

He immediately kneeled down before Raizel so that they were eye-level. "Is your power stable?"

Raizel glanced at him with heavy eyes. "No."

"Fascinating." Frankenstein was far too engrossed in his observations to realize that he had said something insensitive to a patient. He noticed that the power within the Noble appeared to be seeping out, only to surround him. While some of the power was escaping his body, it hovered near him, recognizing its host. It seemed as if Raizel's body could not contain his own power, as if he were a broken vase unable to hold water. But the majority of the Noble's power was at his center, attacking the body where the injuries were.

Frankenstein noticed that Raizel's face was taught, his lips tightly pressed together. Withdrawing a handkerchief, he gave it to Raizel. The Noble nodded gratefully, covering his mouth with the handkerchief as he coughed. Blood stained the white fabric. Raizel's body shuddered before the coughing subsided.

"Is this normal?" Frankenstein had witnessed the power of Nobles before, but that was only when he met with the Central Knights. With Dark Spear, the Central Knights were not a threat to him. While they all possessed some unique sort of aura and skill from their families, he had never before felt this type of self-destructive power from Raizel.

His eyes widened as he stared at Raizel warily. "Are you perhaps a Family Leader?"

To his surprise, Raizel shook his head. Folding the blood stained handkerchief, Raizel placed it on his lap. "I have no family."

Not a Family Leader? Then what was he? If a Noble was radiating such power, then how strong were the Family Leaders?

Retrieving a cup of water from the kettle, Frankenstein handed it to the Noble. He was unsure what else to do with this Noble, or even if he should do anything. Besides, he could not ignore those injuries. They were the clear marks of a werewolf. A normal wolf would not have caused a Noble any harm. Therein was the problem. If a werewolf experienced a skirmish with a Noble, then what happened to the werewolf? The werewolves were usually a tight knit group, and to attack one meant to attack the pack. Frankenstein had never battled a werewolf before, but he knew that they were formidable enemies, especially the elders of the pack.

Perhaps his initial suspicions were correct, and he was harboring a Noble fugitive. A thought he had not bothered to entertain crossed his mind. Perhaps he was harboring the last piece of evidence from a skirmish between Nobles and werewolves. He knew that there was some type of hostility between the Nobles and the werewolves, despite the efforts of the lords on both sides to smooth over the conflict. Perhaps they had finally clashed, their animosity boiling to the surface.

"Do you have anywhere else to go?" Frankenstein stood up. This Noble, he decided, was not his enemy. If anything, the Noble did not seem to know who Frankenstein was and that the Knights were after him.

Raizel shook his head. His eyes flickered away, as if embarrassed and slightly...was that shame?

Frankenstein gently smiled. "I am not kicking you out. If anything, you need to rest and replenish on your liquids and nutrition. If you intend to stay, I can supply you with pain-killers and a bed to rest in and not that," his gaze flickered sideways "that coffin you conjured up."

The tension within Raizel's gaze slowly retreated. "Thank you."

"I will want to change your bandages," Frankenstein continued as he gathered the supplies. "And I would encourage you to minimize your movements. You are still recovering, and we would not want that wound to open up and increase your risk of infection."

Bandaging the Noble confirmed to Frankenstein just how small he was. After the bandaging was done, Frankenstein instructed the Noble to remain in the guest bedroom while he prepared some soup. He would only give the Noble small quantities of food just to make sure that Raizel could keep the food down. Raizel did not protest at the instructions and merely nodded.

Gathering the ingredients that he would need, Frankenstein's mind wandered. Despite the presence of the Noble, did his initial plans need to change? This village was different from the other areas he had visited, which was why he was here in the first place. The strange aura he had felt within the lands had piqued his interest, but so far, he had yet to find the source of that energy. The only strange thing he had found was the town's utter devotion for their elusive god, Kurmark.

He frowned at the thought. From what he had gathered during his travels and research, whenever a town became utterly devoted to a god, the Nobles were behind it. Many family leaders were even connected or born from the legends of the gods. His initial thoughts about Kurmark was that a Noble was behind the new religion, entertained by the devotion the humans were showing to such a powerful being.

As the water for the soup boiled, Frankenstein continued to muse. Perhaps Raizel was connected to the energy this village was emanating. Frankenstein certainly hadn't done enough investigating into the source of the aura, but the presence of the Noble appeared to make a connection.

He sighed. Perhaps he would look into it once he was finished with Raizel. At this point, the village appeared to be normal.

However, with the appearance of the Noble in this small village, normal took on a new meaning.

A/N: Okay, so because of the long hiatus, I forgot where this story was going, so I had to rewrite an entire outline. But fear not! I have the journey, some major plot points, and an ending planned out! Yay!