There's Such a Fine Line

Henry Jekyll was in desperate need of a holiday.  There was so much going on in his life, and Hyde certainly wasn’t making things any easier.  Hyde never made things any easier.

"Oh, no, Jekyll?" came a sneer from inside his mind.  "You don’t have the Board breathing down your neck anymore, do you?"

Jekyll ignored him.  He always ignored Hyde whenever he brought up the Board or any of the misdeeds he’d committed.  

"I am not interested, Hyde," he said, cutting the other off before Hyde could say anything else.  "I’m in the country for a holiday and I don’t need you mucking things up." 

He could have taken a carriage to his country home, but he hadn’t wanted to deal with talking to a driver, even momentarily.

Which was why he’d decided to ride.  

Even as he rode, trying to ignore Hyde, he thought he saw a shape in the woods.

                 The Being kneels before the calmly rippling stream, carefully bringing up his cupped hands and drawing into his mouth the water that quivers against his fingers. In the original era of his existence, he simply bent his head to the surface of streams and drank the way a beast might; now, however, he cannot bring himself to do so. His appearance dehumanizes him quite enough—he does not need to augment that with his behavior.

                 Having drunk his fill, the Being settles his back against a large, curved boulder that rests beside the stream; it is unwise, he supposes, to remain in such plain sight during the day, but he reassures himself with the knowledge that the path that runs near his current resting place is not one that is often traveled by human beings. It is the preference of men in this country to make their journeys in carriages, which are too large to utilize this path; unless a man happens to come by horse or on foot, the Being’s presence will go unnoticed.

Jekyll knew there was a stream nearby; if he'd seen a shape, it would most likely be there.  Besides, his horse (and probably himself, as well), could use a drink.  

He rounded the corner, coming around the bunch of trees that had been hiding his view of the stream, keeping him from seeing the Being that was just beyond the trees.  

The doctor blinked, surprised that there was, in fact, a person here.  This stream was an out of the way little place, and very few people came this way.  It was too narrow for carriages and too out of the way for most people.  

Either way, there was another person here, and it would be impolite to simply stare.  

Lucy had been chatting with a group of men at one of the inside tables when she heard the crash, a few of the girls hurrying over

The man looked up at his name, reaching out weakly.

Hyde looked up at Lucy’s words, gazing over at her.  

"You’ll startle me, will you?" he asked, sitting up, every movement potentially dangerous, power controlled within him.  

He stood, completely unselfconcious at his own nakedness and strode over to her bed, each step lithe and sensuous.  

"I’ve mistakenly woken you before," She reminded him with a click of her tongue, watching as he approached with a lazy sort of smile on her lips. She knew to be cautious of her words with him, but the body was worn and the mind refused to move any faster.

Despite the memory of that previous time, a slow smirk spread across Hyde's face.  He wasn't proud of the fact that he'd hurt Lucy; quite the contrary.  But she was right; it was a dangerous thing to frighten him.  He didn't deal well with his own fear, when it popped up, especially when it appeared so suddenly.  

Jekyll had been scribbling down a few things when the young woman came in, but he didn’t notice her immediately.  

It wasn’t until she spoke that he looked up, crumpling up what he’d been writing on.

"What?  Oh, no, no, now is fine, Miss Harris."

Standing, he made his way over to her with a slight smile.

She couldn’t help but laugh at the behaviour, quirking a brow as he was so quick to destroy his notes. Not as if she would’ve been able to read them.

He smiled back at the young woman, a bit sheepish.  

"It was nothing but rubbish," he explained, wanting her to know that her appearance wasn't the reason he'd crumpled up what he'd been working on.  

Even as Miss Harris sat down and showed him her wound, Dr. Jekyll was preparing to clean it once again.  

He'd seen it before, but still, he couldn't help but wince at the angry injury in an otherwise flawless stretch of skin.  

But this past week, Hyde had been in control, mostly.  He’d been cooped up so long (mostly voluntarily, but still), that he’d had quite the violent outburst when he’d first emerged.  

He’d been so caught up in his violent rage that he had trod on a child without even noticing.  

Of course, there had been hell to pay when other people witnessed what had happened, but Hyde paid it and then went back to his rage.  

What had the bloody woman been thinking?  The world in which she lived was dangerous, and he had seen the condition in which she’d been before he’d stepped in.  

…..come to think of it, what was he thinking, leaving her alone with the scum of the earth?  

Hyde growled almost involuntarily.  Just the thought of the whole incident made his blood boil.  He needed to do some violence, and work of this … whatever it was.  

As he was about to grab his hat and his cane, there was a thump from the front door.  Not as though someone had changed their mind about knocking but had accidentally made some sort of noise, but as though someone had fallen into it.  

Wrenching the door open, Hyde was admittedly surprised to see Lucy on his doorstep.  

     Changing her hands, she clutched her right against her side and held her left out towards Hyde, wet blood layering her skin.

     "Edward…" She choked out weakly, her hand clutching the doorframe weakly as she attempted not to collapse onto him, "Please…I n- I need help…please…”

     Releasing her side, she displayed the wide gash in her side, a smaller cut up by her collarbone also dripping down into her corset. The smallest cut was the one at the side of her lip, no more than half an inch long.

He was going to have to work quickly, that much he knew.  And he didn't trust Jekyll with this, even though Jekyll was a doctor.  Lucy was too precious to even think about switching; there was too much at stake.  

All the rage that he'd been harboring died instantly at the sight of Lucy's injuries.  A new sort of rage welled up inside him.  He would find whoever had done this to her and they would pay.  And it wouldn't be quick, either.  Hyde would take his time, to ensure that whoever had hurt her would feel the pain she'd had to endure a thousand times over.  

As gently as he could, Hyde took Lucy in his arms, making sure to avoid the gash in her side.  

"Woah, when did you get that?"

"Who did this to you?"

"How many time have I told you to be more careful?"

"You’re saying this was an accident?"

"What a shiner!"

"If you look like this, I’d hate to see the other guy."

"I’m not buying it, you don’t walk into a door and get a bruise like that!"

"Does it hurt when I touch it?"

"Let me kiss it better."

"If you don’t rest, you won’t heal."

"Another fight?"

"What happened to your face?"

"I don’t think your arm is meant to bend like that…"

"Let’s get you to bed."

"Let’s get you to the hospital."

"Why are you so calm about this?"

"You’re bleeding!"

"What are friends for, ey?"

"So, instead of helping you, they ran off the moment they saw what was happening?"

"You need to look where you’re going."

"I’m not accusing anyone, I’m just saying it looks suspicious."

"Do you want to tell me what really happened?"

"Don’t move! You’ll faint!"

"I’ve got some bandages, wait a sec."

"You’re the clumsiest person I know."

"I won’t let you be on your own, not when you’re like this."

"How could you be so careless?"

"I can’t even look at you, you promised not to get into any more fights!"

Leonardo da Vinci

ugh.

Claire: Why me?

Hyde: Fantastic arse