A/N: This is an idea that popped into my head one night so I couldn't help but want to write it out. I hope you like it, R&R! (To my unusual day fans, I'll be updating soon!)
There's No Place like London
Introduction…
A ship pulled silently into the harbor of a small port city. The ship docked and a dark figure emerged from it. It was Sweeney Todd, followed by young Anthony Hope.
"We're not going to be here for long, Mr. Todd. We just need supplies for the three weeks it'll take to get back to London," Anthony explained to an expressionless Todd.
Sweeney shuddered at the word London. "I'm just going to get a drink before we leave." With that, he strode off into the slummy city, in search of a bar to wash his troubled thoughts away.
Chapter one: Two Bleeding Hearts
"GET OFF! Get off me!" I screamed, trying to break away from the big man that was holding me. I finally got loose and straightened my dress, huffing angrily. The man was obviously drunk. He was an older guy that hung around a few other equally sauced gentlemen.
"C'mon, if you're desperate enough to scrounge for pennies on the street, surely you're desperate enough to"-
"NEVER!" I screamed but the man grabbed my wrists and pulled me closer, his friends roaring with laughter.
Just as I thought all hope was lost, I saw a fist sailing through the air and smacked the man square in the nose. It gushed blood and the man dropped me to the ground. I rubbed my aching wrists as I watched on in shock. The man growled and tried to fight his attacker but his friends held him back.
"It's not worth it, Howard, Come on", they insisted and pulled the man away.
I looked up to my savior and gasped. The first thing I noticed about him was his intense, shining dark eyes. They were captivating. Then I noticed the rest of him, an incredibly handsome face framed by raven black hair with a single white streak running through it. He wore a black coat and dusty black trousers, fancy boots at the bottom. I kept staring up at him and he extended a hand to help me up. I took hold of it, the first friendly hand I had felt in nearly a year.
He pulled me to my feet and I thanked him gratefully. "Oh thank you sir. You've no idea what scum tries to grope me daily. I aint a hooker though, sir, just unfortunate."
He nodded before asking quietly, "You alright?"
His voice was deep yet almost shy. I said yes. I noticed I was still clutching the penny I had found placed it in my bodice. "What's a woman gotta do to get back to London?" I said to myself.
"You're trying to get back to London as well?" he asked.
I looked at him, "Yeah, I've been trying to get back for nearly a year now. I can't stay here much longer, too many memories… But I've yet to have enough money for a boat trip."
He raised his eyebrows slightly at the sudden bitterness in my voice. He thought for a moment about it. Perhaps it was the common goal that intrigued him enough to say what he said but nevertheless, he said it, "We're 'eaded there", he explained, gesturing toward a ship, "If you'd like maybe you could come back wiv us."
My heart leapt. Finally, a chance to get back to London and exact my revenge. Plus, I couldn't deny this man was dashing. He was dashing in a way that my deceitful husband was not. This man whose name I didn't even know made my heart flutter with a glance. That different quality, the chance of danger, I was fond of it. But before I knew it, he was walking away from me, back towards town.
"Where are you going Mr.… Mr..."- I asked, beginning to follow.
"It's Mr. Todd, Mr. Sweeney Todd", he replied, looking over his shoulder slightly, "My original mission was to find a bar but then I found you. So that is where I'm 'eaded."
I looked around, seeing the stoned drunk men all around me and quickly chased after him, not wanting to loose my trip home. I sat down next to Sweeney on a stool at the counter. He ordered a drink as I looked about the room, men laughing loudly and skanky women flirting. I looked back to Mr. Todd, just glancing so he didn't know I was studying him. He looked so familiar… Then there was another man that dropped down beside me.
He stared at me hungrily, "Hey honey. Doin' business tonight?"
My mouth dropped open in shock. I grabbed the man's drink and splashed it into his face. It felt good to me but I could tell he was fuming. Without warning, the man slapped me across the face, "Insolent whore!"
Then Sweeney was there, holding the man up by his shoulders, "Don't you dare lay your hands on her!" The man began to get frightened and as soon as Mr. T let him down, he sprinted out the door.
Then Sweeney looked at me, "I'm beginning to think you're more trouble than you're worth."
"I don't mean to be, Mr. Todd," I insisted, "I'll try my best to stay out of the way."
He didn't respond, just gazed off into the distance for a moment. "Thank you again," I said, "I'm not used to people defending me like that. This town is terrible. I just want to be rid of it forever." I wrapped my arms tightly around myself. He cast a glance to his half empty glass and sighed.
"Let's go", he said before briskly walking out of the bar. I scrambled off of the stool and followed him, trying to keep up with his long strides.
ST
The ship loomed in front of us. I untied a threadbare shawl from around my waist and covered my arms with it to block out the bitter air. Sweeney stopped in front of a younger man.
"Anthony, this is…" he began and then looked at me questionably.
"Kelsey, sir, Mrs. Kelsey Taylor," I replied.
"Mrs. Taylor", he told Anthony, "She needs transportation back to London as it were."
Anthony smiled at me and held out his hand warmly, "Pleasure to meet you ma'm."
I shook it and returned the greeting. They then led me onto the ship, vengeance so close I could almost taste it.
ST
After I had my accommodations on the ship, I noticed Mr. Todd looking over the rail at the sea. I joined him and looked down into the inky blackness that reflected the night sky. After a long silence, I asked, "So what brings you on this voyage to London, Mr. Todd?"
He looked down, sorrow creeping into his black orb like eyes. I regretted asking him for there was a great sadness in his tone. "Somfing that 'appened years ago…"
"There was a barber and his wife, and she was beautiful", he sang softly, "a foolish barber and his wife, she was his reason and his life, and she was beautiful… and she was virtuous…and he was…naïve."
I watched him, listening intently as he sang beautifully his sad tale, "There was another man who saw that she was beautiful…a PIOS vulture of the law who wiv a gesture of his claw, removed the barber from his plate, then there was nuffing but to wait and she would fall so soft, so young, so lost and oh so beautiful…"
I gasped as I stared into his eyes. Was it really him? "Mr. Barker..." He snapped out of his dreamlike state and stared at me.
"How do you know me?"
"It's really you", I said, "My husband…he used to come to your barber shop for a shave every now and again. He made me wait out side because I really fan-…" I cut off my sentence before revealing too much.
"You what?"
"Nothing."
"Well it doesn't matter anyway. That man is dead. Its Sweeney Todd now," he concluded.
There was a pause of silence as I was still processing everything. "So what's your story?" He asked finally.
I bit my lip as I recounted the events of the past…tragic events… "Two years ago… I met a man named Mathew Taylor. 'E was an honest man, had a good job as a merchant, I thought he was honest anyway. I came with him everywhere, up to get a shave…and that's when I saw yo- Benjamin for the first time. He made me wait outside because he was always so jealous, sometimes jealous of nothing at all. About a year later, we were married and on our honeymoon, we went adventuring. We winded up at Port Windhill, where we just were. On the night we stayed…I- caught him with another woman. He told me that she meant nothing to him and that I should just calm down. I didn't listen and stayed in another inn that night instead. I hadn't cried so hard in all my life. By the time mornin' rolled around, I decided that I should give him another chance. I walked back to the inn he was staying at and when I entered the room…he was gone. I was so scared and angry as I walked to the docks and when I got there, the ship we came on was gone as well. I was alone and I had no money to get back to London. I just know he took that tramp with him. And I hate him for it… I'll get him back."
I clenched my fists angrily at the thought. Yes, I would get him back sooner or later. "Then you came and I feel like my prayers have been answered," I continued.
He looked at me and his gaze softened a bit. "I guess we're just two bleeding 'earts in this world, eh?"
I smiled at him, restraining the hot tears that had risen in my eyes. Perhaps we could help each other to justice. Maybe we were just what we needed.
A/N: Like it? Yes, no? Well lemme know!