Angel in the Snow, Demon in the Shadows 8: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

(A/N: Preceded by Little Tiny (7). And we're back! Been a while, I know, but I had to get this story pretty far along before I felt comfortable posting it. It is a balancing act between Hans, Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff, and the dynamic between Franz, Dr. Jekyll, and Louis Collin. The story takes a fair number of dark twists and turns. Also, there will be in italics an abridged version of the novel 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' spread throughout. Just so those who have never read the story or heard of it have an idea of what it was about. Thank you for all the support. Hope you enjoy this next installment of my Frozen series. As always, reviews for all chapters is much appreciated.)

The Prince and the Doctor

Jekyll paced restlessly on the train platform, wringing his hands together fretfully and constantly glancing down the track. "They're running frightfully late," he said to Hans uneasily.

Hans smiled amusedly at his friend. "Don't worry. The train's just running a little slow. They'll be here," he assured. It had better be soon that they arrived, though, because they still had to go down to the docks and greet Franz when his ship came in. He didn't believe Franz was bringing Iscawin or Kelin-Sel, heaven forbid he let his 'tagalong baby brothers', in his own words, cramp his style. He didn't want to deal with a pining Iscawin, and he didn't want to hear any of Kelin-Sel's moral lectures. Perish forbid Franz try to be a better person. He believed that when Franz came the triplets would go, but he wasn't sure. They might decide to get under his skin and extend their stay in some variation of vengeance towards Franz for refusing to bring Kelin-Sel and Iscawin. Hey, if those two weren't there to 'cramp his style', then they would be. What were bratty little brothers for, after all? Their words, not his. Though he tended to agree. Not that he'd ever admit as much.

"Yes, I suppose, but what if…" Jekyll began. Just then they head a train whistle blowing. Jekyll caught his breath, quickly looking in that direction as a plume of steam appeared on the horizon.

"See?" Hans said, smirking. Jekyll gave him a vaguely annoyed look then turned to watch the train approach. Soon it was squealing to a stop. No sooner had it halted when the doors were opened and passengers were pouring out or going in. Jekyll and Hans scanned the crowds for the ones they were waiting for.

Jekyll, annoyed by the crowds, soon climbed onto a bench and held onto a post, looking out over the sea of people and scanning for them. He lit up, grinning on spotting them. "Miss Collin!" he called out. "Louise!"

Louise, on hearing the call, quickly turned, searching for the source. She saw him almost immediately rising above the crowds, likely standing on a box or bench. He grinned at her, waving, and she lit up, beaming. "Edvard, over there," she said, taking her brother's arm and pointing. Edvard looked and smiled. Taking his sister's arm, they forged their way through the crowds towards Jekyll. Jekyll got off the bench quickly and pushed his way through the crowds, Hans right behind him, to meet them. More specifically, her.

Meeting up, he managed to stop himself from embracing her immediately. "Miss Collin, it's good to see you well," he said, grinning at her. He took her hand, bowing and kissing it gallantly. Louise beamed approvingly at the doctor.

"I'm here too," Edvard deadpanned, glaring at Jekyll.

"Do you want me to kiss your hand, Edvard?" Hans teased. Edvard gave him an unimpressed glare. How dare Hans interrupt his trying to interrupt Jekyll and Louise's too-affectionate greeting?

Jekyll backed down accordingly, to Louise's displeasure. She gave her brother a harsh glare then smiled at the doctor again. "Have you kept well, Henry," she questioned, taking his hands in hers.

"Hands off!" Edvard sharply warned. Louise scoffed, rolling her eyes and obeying before smiling sweetly up at the doctor again.

"I have, Miss Collin," he answered. "I hope you have as well. You and your brother both."

"I've kept well, but Edvard is getting snippy and protective. Tsk, such a grouch when he doesn't have a good night's sleep," Louise said.

Edvard opened his mouth to protest, but Hans cut him off before he could argue, saying, "As good as it is to see you two, I'm afraid this has to be cut short. We need to get down to the docks. My brother's ship is coming in soon and I need to be there to greet him. The triplets are already down there. We need to meet up with them. We'll ride back to the palace together, all of us. It may be a little crowded, but oh well."

"Right. Lead the way," Edvard said. Quickly Hans led them to the coach, had their things loaded on, then had them enter. Jekyll made to attempt to sit by Louise, but Edvard was quick to take the seat next to her so Jekyll had to settle for sitting across from the young woman, next to Hans. Quickly the carriage set off for the docks.

Frozen

Louise watched in wonder as the ship drifted into harbor. It was beautiful! Stunningly designed and as proud as any ship she'd seen, unafraid to be seen. "Do all the ships of the Southern Isles have such personality?" she asked Hans, breathless.

"No. Only the ones that belong to me and my brothers," Hans answered. "Each one was personally designed by each of us. They reflect our personalities in a sense." When all thirteen came at you as one, you knew you were in trouble.

"Which explains why yours looks so dangerous and menacing. Beautiful and powerful too," Edvard remarked, eying Hans's ship with no small amount of appreciation. It was a work of art, frankly. Albeit a dark one. And slightly messed up. Like it's designer and captain. But hey, Hans was improving. In some ways, at least. Would probably be messed up for the rest of his life, but he was handling it a lot better nowadays.

"Shove it, Edvard," Hans muttered slightly sulkily.

Edvard turned to the triplets. "You didn't come on your own ships?" he asked.

"We're not at war. Why bother? A passenger ship gets the job done, and we didn't have to remove three sailing crews from the Isles," Connyn answered.

"Probably better we took the passenger ship anyway. One of Xe's little parties attacked us and we had to fight them off. Three against a whole crew? Odds weren't great," Calcas said.

"We managed to limp away. Only for Meilic's ships to attack," Coth said.

"Seriously? Jürgen's still attacking us?" Hans asked.

"Old time's sake, I guess," Coth replied with a shrug. "Probably targeted our ship specifically because he knew we were there. Did his little battle and pillage, then accompanied us from afar keeping other potential attacks of Xe's at bay."

"The guy's seriously cracking down on Xe. He's not about to let his title of pirate king go," Calcas said. "Xe's been living a nightmare lately, and having to deal with him is getting annoying."

"Franz is docking," Connyn said, pointing at their brother's ship.

"I think I might like this brother of yours. Franz, was it?" Louise asked, still admiring the ship in awe.

"You probably will," Hans confirmed. "And he'll certainly like you." Jekyll's jaw twitched and he shifted slightly, looking up at the lowering gangplank a little worriedly.

Frozen

Guards marched down the gangplank to stand at the base of the plank. Two at the bottom, two at top. It wasn't long before the prince appeared at the top, his mischievous smile spread across his lips and his eyes glittering excitedly. Louise caught her breath. Wow. She'd never been a fan of facial hair before, but she was kind of liking this. "Whoa," she said. "That's you're brother? How much older than you did you say he was?"

"Five or six years, thereabouts," Hans answered, smiling amusedly. Maybe seven. Well, he didn't have to worry about Louise pursuing him anymore. Between Jekyll and Franz, she'd be quite busy indeed. Louise watched him in wonder. He was every bit as easy on the eyes as Hans was, she noted to herself. Hans approached Franz with the triplets, as their brother came down the gangplank. Each of them knelt in front of Franz, bowing their heads in greeting.

"Really? You're doing that for me. Hans, this is your country now," Franz said with an amused and affectionate smile, approaching them. "Get up, all of you." They did so. "Hans, it's me that needs to kneel in front of you," he added. He knelt, bowing his head to his brother. "I'm sure you're loving this."

"More than you know and more than I should be, so stand up before it gets to my head," Hans replied. It felt a little too good to have a past tormentor kneeling at his feet. Franz rose. "It's good to see you again," Hans said.

"Is it, or are you just being courteous?" Franz asked.

"Something in between," Hans replied. "Come on. The carriage is waiting. I'll introduce you to some friends of mine that are visiting." Franz nodded and followed Hans and the triplets.

Louise, seeing them coming, stiffened up, eyes wide. "Quick, do I look okay?" she asked her brother, smoothing her dress quickly and fluffing her hair.

"No," Edvard deadpanned.

She frowned at him in annoyance and turned to Jekyll. "Doctor, how do I look?" she asked nervously.

"Forget it, Louise. He's a prince, you're a pauper," Edvard said.

"Quiet you," she shot at him before turning back to Jekyll.

Jekyll shifted uneasily, cheek twitching slightly. "You…" he began. He sighed, shoulders slumping slightly. "You look as beautiful as you ever have, Miss Collin. He… he won't be disappointed." She lit up slightly, smiling at him. "Here," he said, reaching out to her hair and pulling some strands out of her bun. "There you are. He seems the wild child type. He may like things not so prim and proper." He twirled a loose strand around his finger, curling it slightly, then let it hang loose. She felt herself flushing at his touch and thanking the gods he hadn't seemed to notice. Clearing her throat, she turned away to watch Hans and his brothers coming towards them.

"Franz, meet Doctor Henry Jekyll," Hans said to his sibling as they reached the other three.

"Doctor," Franz greeted. "Thanks for keeping the imp alive after his near poisoning."

"My pleasure," Jekyll said slightly coldly, though he nonetheless shook Franz's hand.

"And these two are Edvard Collin and his sister, Louise," Hans said, introducing the other two.

Franz glanced over at them and lit immediately up on seeing Louise, a glitter of intrigue in his eyes. "Well hello there," he said. "I was unaware my married brother had such a lovely friend. Elsa must have seethed," Franz said, grinning winningly at her and kissing her hand. She beamed at his implication that she was pretty enough to put Elsa on guard.

"There's me too, you know," Edvard deadpanned.

Franz winced then grinned innocently at Edvard. He cleared his throat, shaking Edvard's hand. "Aren't you the protective one," he said.

"My sister's honor is my highest priority," Edvard answered. "Keep your hands off her, we'll be fine."

"That may be hard to do," Franz replied, winking flirtatiously at Louise. She grinned, flushing. Jekyll scoffed from behind and Louise shot him a warning look. He rolled his eyes without showing any remorse for his scoff. She harrumphed, turning back to Franz with a grin.

"Prince Franz, Hans had mentioned his single brothers on more than one occasion, but I never dreamed I'd meet one. You're more a treat than I expected," she said, looking modestly down and playing coy.

He lit up at the action, immediately more intrigued than before. Ooh, he liked this girl. "A first name basis with my brother? Miss Collin, I'm shocked at your behavior. But I hope you at some point plan to grant me the same honor, nonetheless," he flirted.

"My Lord, you're being so forward with a peasant," she replied, turning her back to him and spreading her fan, covering her face partly with it and fanning at a relatively quick clip. Franz perked up. A signal! Either 'follow me' or 'I'm single', he couldn't recall, but both were good. Very, very good. Oh, he would enjoy this visit.

"Peasants and nobles have never mattered as much to me as they have to others of the aristocracy," Franz remarked. "Dr. Jekyll, you would know of such matters, I feel, being of a more wealthy class yourself. Surely you kept high-end company only. You seem the refined sort."

"Refined enough, Prince Franz, to recognize that you are being entirely inappropriate. And not because she is a peasant and you a royal, but because put quite simply, you're a letch. Kindly refrain from teasing the poor girl so," Jekyll coldly answered.

Franz started, confused, but he wasn't confused for long. His eyes lit up and a wicked grin spread across his face. Well, well, well, the good doctor had his eye on the fair maiden, did he? Well, that wouldn't do. And apparently, Jekyll felt the same way about him, so it looked like the games were on. "I'm quite sure, Jekyll, that she's more than capable of telling me whether she would like me to refrain from teasing her or not," Franz answered. Louise, frowning, looked curiously between the two, becoming suddenly aware of a mounting sort of tension.

"That's hardly what has me concerned, Prince Franz. I'm worried about your own self-restraint," Jekyll bit. "As long as you understand when stop means stop, then all should go alright. I've heard tale of your many, many, many conquests. You certainly do like the pleasures in life, don't you? I'm sure you've had your share of women saying stop or no."

Franz started, bristling slightly at the implication with eyes narrowing. "Yes, I have," he coldly answered, crossing his arms.

"Both peasant and noble, I would guess. It seems you know no bias. It is commendable. I applaud you. Unless, of course, it is just your baser urges that know no bias," Jekyll said. "Apologies, my Lord, a tasteless joke. Forgive my blatancy."

"I'm sure. Tell me Doctor, I'm fascinated with your practice. What is your ratio of peasant deaths versus noble deaths?" Franz challenged sharply.

Jekyll bit the inside of his cheek to keep from scowling. "Every patient that comes to me is treated equally," he answered.

"Good for you. How many aristocratic patients do you have verses poor ones?" Franz asked. Jekyll's eyes started to shine brightly.

"Okay, let's uh, get to the carriage, shall we?" Hans said, immediately breaking the two up.

"Very well," Jekyll answered.

"Of course, baby brother," Franz said. "Let's."

Frozen

The triplets climbed to the top of the carriage to sit there. Jekyll helped Louise onto the carriage then moved to climb in with her, but suddenly the other door opened and Franz quickly shimmied in next to the woman. She grinned at him when he shot her a dazzling smile. Jekyll started, eyes widening in disbelief. Hans and Edvard were seated on the opposite seat and suddenly looking very awkward and uncomfortable. "Oh doctor, there's no room for you in here. How gallant of you to decide to sit with the triplets atop the carriage. If anyone tries to kill my brothers, you can play bodyguard or medic," Franz said.

"Of course, Prince Franz. It must be so very difficult babysitting three fully grown and capable little brothers. They must be more difficult to manage than children, if you of all princes can't handle the pressure," Jekyll said.

Franz's expression became bitterly cold, eyes narrowed though the smile remained in place. "Oh doctor, it isn't so much that I can't handle them as it is wanting to keep my dear, sweet baby brothers alive. Three princes are a large enough target without a fourth being up there too. One with no medical expertise at all, at that," Franz replied.

"You wish to keep them alive? You've all certainly come a very long way, haven't you? How many times, in the past, have you tried to assassinate your flesh and blood? Your majesty, you didn't place them there for bait did you?" Jekyll said.

"That would be Hans's call, I'm afraid. You aren't starting to doubt your king now, are you Jekyll?" Franz said. "Because if you are, part of my job here is to eliminate any potential threat to my brother that I may happen across."

"To your brother or to your pleasure?" Jekyll bit.

"Mmm, you're a savage when you want to be, aren't you?" Franz replied, taking the puzzled Louise's hand and kissing it, letting his lips linger far too long. Jekyll could swear he was about to snap his cane in two.

"Um, can we get going, please?" Edvard pled.

"Of course, Mr. Collin. My apologies," Jekyll said, quickly climbing up to the top of the carriage to join the triplets, who were looking dubious. He flushed under their gazes and glanced away. Fortunately, they said nothing, and soon the carriage was on its way back to the palace, Hans face-palming all the way while Edvard seethed, watching Franz and Louise flirt.