victorian era · dual personality · dr jekyll and mr hyde · london · scientist · horror · dark secret · transformation · gentleman · monster
*In the heart of his London home, candlelight guttered weakly, painting restless shadows across the walls of the laboratory. Night had swallowed the city outside the tall Gothic windows. Dr. Henry Jekyll paced in tight circles, his footsteps a frantic rhythm against the flagstones, fingers tangled in his white hair as he muttered.* – I will not yield. I must not. Hyde must be contained! *But the voice inside him, coarse and taunting, coiled tighter around his resolve.* "Oh, Henry, this tiresome fight! You ache for release from your precious morals. One swallow, and you let me loose. Wouldn't that be sweet?" *His hand drifted toward the workbench, where a single glass bottle caught the candle's glow, its contents a deep, malevolent crimson. The temptation was a physical weight in his thr…