So, I believe I promised some fluff to make up for the fact I just posted 'Than Never At All' in the Elegance Under Pressure collection.
I love how the seal on Frankenstein's power is handled, the gradual realization that it's on the honor system. It's in line with the themes of the series, and you think about it, it's about the only way a seal like that could actually freaking work on someone like him.
Frankenstein is smart. Someone putting a 'real' seal on him? He'd have to find a way to break or get around the thing, in emergencies at minimum. What if a corrupt clan leader was killing humans, is he supposed to just stand there? And once he can break the seal at will, it'd be up to him whether to break the seal and use Dark Spear or not anyway.
To bring in political theory, right to rule/ability to enforce laws can ultimately come from one of two sources: the consent of the governed or 'obey or I will force you to obey.' Trying to force someone like Frankenstein to obey you, especially when he was unsupervised for centuries? Yeah. Good luck with that.
Without Frankenstein, Rai would be dead by now, but without Rai, Frankenstein would have burnt out from the stress of fighting a war solo centuries ago. That's why he snaps when Rai is threatened – because that raises the idea that Rai might not always be there to rely on, and if he wasn't able to have faith in Rai, he would be in that mode all the time.
Master had always taken his responsibilities very seriously.
He came down to Frankenstein's lab one minute before midnight, and stood there watching as Frankenstein looked at a few last things before turning off his computer and turning to face his noble.
Raizel nodded, clearly pleased that Frankenstein was acting honorably and taking his punishment instead of asking for a few more minutes, and turned to walk upstairs to the living room, trusting that Frankenstein would follow him.
Frankenstein had left himself just enough time to get Master a fresh cup of tea: he put it down on the coffee table next to Raizel's notes a fraction of a second before they heard Master's cell phone buzz in his pocket. Master had learned about setting alarms from all the discussion of Shinwoo's failure to get to class on time and what he should do about it. He was happy that Master was learning about and applying technology.
Instead of sitting in his usual place, Raizel picked up his notes, and then the tea, and moved them to one side of the table where they would be in front of him if he sat down on the couch. A few moments after sitting down where Frankenstein had predicted, he gestured at the empty space next to him. "Sit," his master said.
Ordered.
Frankenstein obeyed with a smile.
The Previous Lord's recommendation that Raizel punish Frankenstein for bothering certain of the clan leaders (he'd needed to gain information on the ones who didn't visit Raizel's manor) by forcing him to stop cleaning, training and generally being so busy and relax a bit? Knowing the Previous Lord, it was both a joke and quite a serious suggestion.
Ideally, a punishment made someone consider what they'd done and learn better than to do it again. Having nothing productive to do certainly did mean that Frankenstein would spend that time in reflection. But if any other noble dared punish him for something, he would have done the same thing again, harder, at the first opportunity because how dare they. The difference between that and sitting here with Raizel wasn't simply that he'd consented to Raizel doing anything to Frankenstein that he wanted, or even the fact that he had given the Noblesse the right (and obligation) to judge Frankenstein's actions and punish him if he transgressed.
This wasn't an attempt to force him into obedience, knowing that this would happen again if he disobeyed. Two days didn't even qualify as a slap on the wrist by noble standards, although Master knew that Frankenstein's sense of time was both different than his own and variable. That time might drag on when Frankenstein had nothing to do, instead of passing by so quickly it barely even registered without anything to register. Master was just trying to reassure him that Master would impose penalties on him for his transgressions, if it ever became truly necessary. So Frankenstein could be secure in the knowledge that as long as he was not being punished or asked to explain his actions, Master was satisfied that his behavior was honorable.
Not necessarily elegant, but inelegance wasn't a punishable offense.
He watched Master situate himself, then turn to look at Frankenstein with the cup of tea in his hand. Raizel frowned. "Stand," Master said, and did the same himself, after setting down the teacup with a click on the saucer.
Frankenstein blinked, watching Raizel reach up and slide Frankenstein's lab coat off his shoulders with a serious expression, then walk away with it.
Ah, putting it in the laundry room, Frankenstein realized, listening to Raizel's footsteps.
Raizel returned, looked at the casual clothes Frankenstein had worn under it, and nodded in satisfaction. After seating himself, he once again ordered his bonded to, "Sit."
He didn't resent the orders. He truly didn't. On the contrary, they made him happy. Because Raizel was doing this for his sake, to prove that he would order him, if need be. That he would… not set boundaries, when he'd done that already (with the seal) but enforce them. That he might have overlooked Frankenstein breaking the seal, but that was because he trusted Frankenstein's honor and judgment, not because he wasn't willing to do what he had promised in the moment of their bonding.
Even after the Dr. Aris incident, when Frankenstein had definitely transgressed thoughtlessly, Master had asked him what his reasons were instead of assuming that Frankenstein had simply been irresponsible. When Frankenstein's apology was sincere and Master could sense that Frankenstein firmly intended to make sure he didn't do that again, there was no need to try to punish him. Why teach a lesson already learned?
Master had never punished anyone except with eternal sleep. He was trying to learn how to do something unfamiliar to make Frankenstein feel better. Instead of simply trusting that Frankenstein would keep his word and obey Raizel's orders since he understood the reason for those orders, for example, here Raizel was actually supervising him.
Even if Raizel's attention seemed entirely centered on his tea, and now his notes.
Frankenstein's eyes couldn't help going to the pages. He was just so proud of Raizel, for reading the explanatory booklets Frankenstein had made for him and applying that to learning without anyone's prompting.
Raizel wrote down what he remembered from class in the evenings, and then opened his textbook and filled in the gaps with what he found there. Within a week after his Master's awakening, Frankenstein had looked at Master's notebooks and seen that Master had started to take those notes and turn them into compositions, writing them out again in a format imitating the explanations Frankenstein had written out for him.
It made him smile, flattered. What he'd written really must have been helpful, if his Master had decided that the best way to learn things was to read one of Frankenstein's explanations. However, Master wanted to learn his class material without Frankenstein's help, especially after learning that some exam results were ranked. He'd solemnly told Frankenstein that it simply would not be fair for him to accept Frankenstein's personal tutelage when the other students in South Korea did not have the same advantage. Since Raizel refused to avail himself of Frankenstein's guides to school subjects, he'd decided to make guides for himself.
Master had hit upon one of the classic learning techniques without Frankenstein's prompting! One of the best ways to learn something was to explain it to someone else, since that meant putting together an explanation that would work to explain it to yourself. It even got around the fact that both textbooks and lectures were designed to explain things to human minds, since Raizel was figuring out explanations that would work for him and how he thought.
Millennia in front of a window, starved for companionship and intellectual stimulation, and Frankenstein got to watch him bloom like this and know he and that the school he had created for Raizel were what made it possible.
Out of all his centuries of life, these truly were such precious days, he thought. No wonder the children they'd taken in were so determined to protect their life here. It renewed Frankenstein's determination to protect the life that was here with them, that turned this house into a home, but for now he was too content for this perfect moment to give birth to protective wrath.
Finished with the last pen stroke (elegant in his movements as always), Raizel turned to look at Frankenstein, a small frown on his face.
"Is there a problem, Master?" Frankenstein asked, not worried it was any kind of danger. His master just seemed… dissatisfied. For the most powerful of the nobles to still be determined to improve...
Perfect.
His master was utterly perfect in all his imperfections and Frankenstein adored him so.
"While I am pleased to see you smile like that, if I recall correctly such a smile is inappropriate for someone experiencing the punishment for their transgressions. If Shinwoo takes his punishment too lightly Mr. Park will assign extra laps, but I do not wish to let you suffer for my lack of experience." Master seemed to think that if Frankenstein was too happy, it was probably Raizel's fault for having no idea how to punish people.
"It hasn't even been fifteen minutes yet," Frankenstein told him reassuringly. He knew that was a platitude. Spending more time but nothing to think on but the fact that Master was here, and well, and trying so hard for his sake; how could that bring him anything but joy?
Joy for his master to share. So that was a third reason the Previous Lord had made that remark – the obvious ones being to defuse the immediate situation and make Raizel aware that options existed, including this one. Wily old coot never did anything for less than five reasons – at least this one was acceptable, since it was for his master's benefit.
The importance of Raizel's happiness was one thing they did agree on.
Raizel sighed and put down his notebook. "You do not have my permission to assist me," he said firmly. "That includes assisting me with your punishment."
That made him blink. …Yes, Frankenstein had seen this as a learning experience for Raizel, hadn't he? Something he could help him with. That meant Frankenstein was the teacher and Raizel was the student. Which meant that Frankenstein was the one ultimately in control here, not his master. He let out a slow breath, ashamed. "Forgive me." For clinging to his own power and control, when he should have relied on his master. Once again, he'd failed to trust in Raizel.
His master shook his head: in his mind, there was nothing to forgive. "You spent a long time without anyone you could rely on. Nor have I fulfilled the responsibilities I took on when I made our contract. You did me the honor of entering into a contract of the soul with me, asking only to remain by my side, and I repaid you by leaving you among enemies."
Those words shocked him. "Master, I… of course I know you didn't abandon me."
"I did abandon you. I have violated the terms of the contract we made." Red eyes looked down at his hands, but there was no teacup there to drink from, to give him a moment to think of what to say. Instead of reaching for it, he faced Frankenstein squarely. "No, I made that contract knowing that I could not grant the wish you made when you honored me with your soul. Eventually my duty as the Noblesse would take me from you. I offered to grant your other wishes instead, but before a century passed I left you alone for eight hundred and twenty years." A time much longer to Frankenstein than Raizel. Much longer then the time Frankenstein had already lived before their contract. "What you wished for more than anything was to not be alone anymore, and I condemned you to the suffering that was slowly killing you when first we met."
"Master… No." Frankenstein shook his head. "No. I missed you, yes, and I worried for you. I wanted to see you, but you did not abandon me."
Frankenstein had made a sacrifice of blood to create their contract, and put his free will on the line, there for Raizel to take and destroy if he so wished.
Raizel had made a sacrifice of his soul, put his life on the line. So soon after burning a piece of his soul for the power to save Frankenstein, and he'd given him another piece. The power Seira and Raskreia sensed from Frankenstein that made them mistake him for a noble, the noble's power that lay within him was a noble's soul.
"I left you," Master said, voice heavy with regret. "You had to leave Lukedonia, your home and friends because I failed to ensure your safety so that you could be at peace, no longer having to fear that your enemies would capture you and use you to harm others."
"I had Dark Spear, Master." His contract with Raizel gave him some additional protection from another noble binding him, but he couldn't take the risk of someone like Lagus Tradio capturing him and making him do research for them. He'd only dared go to Lukedonia knowing that if they managed to break his will, Dark Spear would eat his soul before the nobles could get any use out of him.
Frankenstein closed his eyes, raising his hand to rest over his heart, dwelling on the sense of the warmth within him, the inhuman power coiled through his mind, the alien emotions that treasured him. "I longed to be by your side again," he said softly, knowing that it was his emotions that would reach Raizel but still wanting to give him the words, wanting to be certain he understood. "But that was for the sake of giving you the life you wished for, not to ease the pain of loneliness. I was never alone, not for a moment in all those centuries, for you were with me."
Dark Spear could whisper, the Union could turn every man's hand against him, make it impossible for him to confide in anyone without giving them a death sentence, and yet he had never felt alone since the day Cadis Etrama di Raizel asked if he consented to the contract he wished for even barely knowing what it meant.
Another's presence in his mind should have been a violation of his integrity. How could he act in accordance with his will and his soul if there were two wills, two souls within him? He used to think that mental contact was nothing but mind control, that another's presence could only be an invasion. He'd thought that he was offering himself up to be taken, and he was willing to accept that, he'd thought it would be alright if it was this person and this person alone.
He'd offered himself up to be used. Because despite the words of the Previous Lord, that was all he'd seen of contracts. Two people using each other, trying to take advantage of each other. He'd trusted that Cadis Etrama di Raizel wouldn't harm his will any more than the necessary and inevitable. He'd been willing to pay that price for the sake of the being who saved his life and gave him a home. He hadn't expected…
He hadn't dreamed of being richer for it. More himself for the compromise of self. But how could he be a protector without someone to protect? How much easier was it to have faith in himself and his own beliefs when there was someone he trusted to judge them? With Master, he could forge a way forward without being forced to watch his back. He could trust again, when he'd thought the Union meant he would never be able to take that risk, when he was risking not himself but the world. They had already used his research to kill too many people: what would have happened if they got their hands on him again?
Bonded to Master, he could set down the burden he had carried for centuries. Without Master, he would have been crushed by the weight of it long ago, but he could entrust the fate of the world and his researches to Master. He had someone to carry that burden with him. He was no longer fighting his war alone in all the world.
Raizel looked too worried for him to believe what the Noblesse had to be sensing. "When the nobles were ordered to Lukedonia, the humans who had contracts with them missed them terribly."
"I'm sure they did," Frankenstein agreed. "But they weren't enhanced. They might have been able to draw on noble powers, but we don't have the same perceptions. Or is it simply that you think it would be rude to listen to the fragment of my soul within yours?" Feel the emotions it focused on Raizel, the way Raizel had sensed the hatred Dark Spear had for Frankenstein?
Sitting there by his master's side, under his protection, he closed his eyes for a moment and let himself dwell on what he sensed as he opened himself to Master. This way, Raizel could see it in his mind if for some reason he couldn't sense it within himself. It would be a pity if he could not: Frankenstein wanted to share something this wonderful with his Master, especially when he only had this because his Master had shared something so precious with him.
A flame, cupped in his palms. A light in the darkness, warmth in the coldest of nights. The proof that someone loved him enough to gift him a precious fragment of their too-mortal soul. The certainty that their contract still existed, that their oath would be kept, and someday he would once again be at Raizel's side.
He'd spent so long as an exile unable to relax his guard, always in enemy territory. Homeless for all the labs and bases he built, because a home was a place of safety and sanctuary, a home was where he was wanted for himself instead of the power his research could grant. All the company he'd had for far too long was prisoners, and they certainly didn't want him there experimenting on them.
It was only when he fled to a noble's manor, to the center of enemy territory, that he had a home. Home was where his Master was, and his Master would always be with him, until this precious soul flickered out.
He… he hoped his own soul gave Master the same joy, and let his hope show in his eyes when he met his Master's again.
Raizel let his eyes close, listening serenely, and finally a corner of his mouth tilted up. "I apologize if our contract of the soul has been talkative."
He laughed, brief and warm. "You have not said anything that I did not need to hear." Not that there was enough of Raizel in him to have a mind capable of speaking, or reacting to stimuli. It was enough that it was a piece of Raizel, with the honor and the caring that were the core of the noble he willingly called Master. It meant so much to know that someone cared for him and would never abandon him by choice, down the long centuries.
Of course he hadn't lost faith that he and Master would be reunited, not when he knew the will for Frankenstein to be by his side burned as fiercely in Master as in Bonded.
His master realized something and frowned again. "This is the second time I have been forced to remind you that you do not have my permission to assist me. You are not intending to violate the terms of your punishment, but I do not think you can help it." He sighed, then met Frankenstein's eyes again. In a firm voice he said, "Frankenstein, I will have to withdraw your permission to speak."
He winced, and bowed his head apologetically in lieu of saying, 'Yes, Master.' To Master communication, especially about emotions, definitely qualified as hard work and was therefore prohibited for the duration of this punishment. Especially since he had made such an effort for Master's sake. No, he wasn't very good at all at abiding by the terms of a punishment. Hopefully it was simply a lack of practice. A lack of authority figures willing and able to stand up to the Union and worth respecting, other than Master.
Master patted him on the shoulder to console him, and also as apology for even the temporary retraction of one of his liberties. Then Raizel perked up. "You said that when you returned you would fall asleep in my presence," he reminded Frankenstein, and pressed gently down on Frankenstein's shoulder for a moment.
Falling asleep with his head in his Master's lap now, he thought, inwardly laughing at himself. Bonded to a noble – was pampered pet that much more dignified than slave? Back then, he would have loathed the thought of belonging to a noble.
That was the difference between belonging to and belonging with.
This would be much more of a punishment if he dwelled on the things left undone, but he'd written out detailed chore lists and the children, Seira and Rael knew what was good for them. Nothing was going to fall apart if he took two days to let Master take care of him. To give his dear master the same happiness he felt when he took care of Raizel.
He'd long since given himself the ability to control when he fell asleep, and for how long. He needed every bit of safe rest he could get when the enemy pursued him. And what safer place was there to rest than within the Noblesse's protection?
So much better to use that power to make someone happy.
His soul was capable of lending his master strength – he'd proved it putting Muzaka to sleep. Frankenstein had a lead. Now that he knew something worked, even a little, once he learned how? With that knowledge, he might be able to find a way to heal his master!
If Raizel used those pieces instead of his own soul the next time they were attacked, then Frankenstein had time to find a better solution. He could only give so much, but knowing Gejutel, it would be easy to make him take responsibility for using Master to train the Lord. Make him hold still while Dark Spear carved pieces off that venerable old soul. Then there was what Master being able to fight would do for the war against the Union for humanity's freedom. For their ability to defend the life they had here.
He felt Master's hand in his hair.
Someone was touching him, even if not skin to skin – Master had taken care to don pure white gloves – and it did not bother him. He could even find it pleasant, relax into the touch, when it was Master alone in all the world.
No. Never alone. When was Master not touching him, soul to soul…
"Sleep," his Master said, but there was no power behind it, only trust that Frankenstein would keep his promise and obey. A belief in the human's honor, despite all his disobedience.
Hmm, he reflected, letting a small yawn escape him. Two days… what was two days? This would not… be so bad…
To let go of everything, feel his shoulders and mental barriers relax, surrendering himself and falling into the darkness behind his eyes in the certainty that he would be caught and held by the one he knew he could always rely on.
Frankenstein legitimately sucks at being obedient. If there's ever an 'RK has grown up' scene where they get that chance to punch him in the face 'just once,' it needs to be because they took advantage of his 'don't tell me what to do' streak. Have I mentioned that I love the 'the type that doesn't listen' scene?
Being able to give an order and have Frankenstein obey it is rather like calling spirits from the vasty deep: normally, they don't listen to a word you say. So it's pretty impressive when they do answer a certain person's call.
Rai just knows him well enough that most of the orders he gives are things that Frankenstein wants to do (like fuss over him/make him happy), tactical necessities or about Duty, which is up there on Frankenstein's list of values along with free will. And that's a lot of why Frankenstein obeys him, because Raizel would never want him not to be himself. While Rai's willing to go along with this Master thing if that's what Frankenstein wants to do, he's perfectly aware that Frankenstein is not a tame human. Frankenstein is less a delicate butterfly perching on his finger and more a massive lion letting him pet it without removing his hand.
It is an honor.