Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Hey everybody, Ivy here! This is my first attempt at a Jekyll and Hyde fic. Of course, I think it's obvious that I do not own Jekyll and Hyde. I only own characters that you may not recognize, like Elaina. Also, the events in this story are mere speculation on my half. I was listening to No One Knows Who I Am one night and just began wondering where Lucy came from and what made her who she was. Final note is these * * denote dream sequences. Please R&R! Reviews make me feel all happy and inspire me to write more. Flames will be used for cooking my dinner. I think that's it. Oh and keep a look out for special guest appearances by other characters...... Enjoy!
The lamplights flickered lowly, their orange light gleaming on the damp cobblestone street. A young girl wandered down that street, shivering and very much alone in the world. She could not have been anymore than nine years old. She gazed warily into the shadows; not knowing what kind of evil could be lurking behind the black façade of night. Shouting and obnoxious laughter combined with the sound of a light-hearted piano tune could be heard from the decrepit buildings on either side of the street. The girl wrapped her arms around herself, trying to fight the bitter cold air creeping under her ragged clothes and chilling her to the bone. It had only taken moments for the life she had always known to shatter and reduce her to this place. She once had a family and a warm bed to sleep in at night. But one tragic accident had changed all that and she was forced to take to the streets. Lack of sleep and stress began to weigh down on the small shoulders of the girl. She knew that she wouldn't make it much further. Dragging her tired body into the very shadows she feared, she curled up in a corner of a grimy alleyway. Aware of the danger that could be surrounding her at that very moment but blissfully ignorant of the turn her life was about to take, young Lucy Harris fell into a restless sleep...
*The red and orange flames leaped in the air so high that they seemed to reach the stars in the heavens. Oily, black smoke billowed from the broken windows of the small, charred cottage. Lucy, barely a week over five years old, watched in horrified fascination as her life burned away. She could hear her mother screaming over the ferocious roar of the fire.
"Mommy!" she cried. A tall, broad man with a handsome face and dark eyes took her hand. It was her father.
"Stay here." he told her urgently. With a final glance at her, he ran into the raging inferno. Seconds later, the unstable structure that she had called home collapsed to the ground sending fiery embers flying through the air. Lucy never saw her family again.*
Elaina Truit slipped out the backdoor of The Green Gator. She knew that if she made it out before anyone else woke up that she wouldn't be missed until that evening.
'An' I'll be back by then.' she thought, definitely not wanting a repeat of the last time she came in late. Her eye had turned black and blue and she could barely touch her face for a week afterward without immense pain by the time Spider was through with her. Elaina quietly shut the door, stepping into the narrow alley. 'At least he has business at The Red Rat this week.' She turned away from the door and faced the alley. Something in the corner caught her eye. Elaina gasped. It was a girl! Cautiously, Elaina moved towards the petite child lying motionless on the ground. She sighed in relief when she saw the gentle rise and fall that signified that the girl was still breathing. Kneeling down next to her, Elaina gently shook the girl awake.
"Wake up, little one." She said in her thick Cockney accent.
Lucy's eyes opened slowly. When she saw Elaina she jumped to her feet. Noticing she had scared the girl half to death, Elaina spoke to her.
"Falling asleep out 'ere isn't the brightest thing to do, little bit." Elaina admonished the child. "These streets ain't exactly safe."
Lucy remained silent, not certain what to do. Elaina sensed the awkwardness.
"What's yer name, little bit?"
"Lucy...Lucy 'Arris." Came the soft reply. Elaina smiled at her. "Well, Lucy, you can call me Elaina. And this place you just happened to come upon is The Green Gator. Not the most respectable establishment in London, but my place of business and where I hang my hat up." Elaina gave the girl a closer look, taking in her dark chestnut curls and wide blue eyes. "So, what are we to do with you now. I can't very well just send you on your way. It was just pure luck that I found you out here instead of some drunken lout. For now, why don't you come inside? There's not much 'ere, but I'm sure we can find you something to eat and a place to spend the night that is better than this alley." Elaina held out her hand. Lucy took it, with a small but grateful smile and Elaina led her inside.
"Elaina? Elaina Truit, where in the devil were you?" a woman's voice snapped as Elaina re-entered The Green Gator. Elaina rolled her eyes.
"I just stepped into the alley for some air, Gweny. No need to call out Scotland Yard." Elaina replied with a hint of sarcasm. Guinevere was about to start in on one of her lectures, when her eyes fell on Lucy. Giving Elaina a look, she asked, "What is this?"
"A child Gweny. I believe you 'ave seen one before."
"I know that she is a child. But what is she doing here?"
Taking Guinevere aside so Lucy wouldn't hear, Elaina began to speak. "I found her asleep in the alley. I couldn't very well leave her out there. The poor thing is starving and you know as well as I do that she wouldn't last out there by herself."
"The Spider will never allow this!"
"What Spider doesn't know, won't hurt him. Or more importantly, the rest of us."
"And how exactly are you planning to keep her hidden from him?"
Elaina shrugged, "He'll be busy enough with 'is new house. He won't be around until he has business at The Red Rat under control. And when 'e does come around, I'll make sure she isn't. Come on Gweny! I'll take care of 'er."
Finally giving in, Guinevere just said, "Fine. Just keep her out of the way. And if Spider finds out, I knew nothing about it."
Elated, Elaina agreed and hurried back to Lucy. The child looked at her with curious eyes. Elaina patted her head.
"Let's get you some food."
After getting her feed and as cleaned up as one could be at The Green Gator, Elaina settled Lucy into an unused closet that was out of the way from the hustle of The Green Gator's main room. Using some extra blankets that she had found, she set up a small makeshift bed on the floor.
"I know it's not an upper class room, but it's the best I can do for now."
With a faint smile, Lucy replied, "It's better than the alley."
Elaina smiled back, "Now you get some rest and we'll talk more in the morning."
Lucy nodded, already starting to fall asleep. When she was certain that Lucy would be out for the night, Elaina quietly left the room. It was time for her to go to work.
* "Lucy..." The gentle voice was carried to the girl on a light breeze. "Lucy...Come to us Lucy...Over here..."
"Mama? Papa? Where are you?" Lucy cried to the wind.
"Over here..." the haunting voice replied. Lucy began to run through the dense forest.
"Faster, dear one... You'll be late..."
"Late for what?" the voices didn't answer Lucy's inquiry. Lucy ran faster, getting hit in the face with small branches and sticker thorns. But Lucy didn't care. She was going to get to her parents this time. Finally, Lucy reached a clearing. There was her house! The small cottage that she had lived in with her parents. Lucy ran towards it. She was so close, she could almost touch the wooden sides of the structure. Suddenly, the house burst into flames.
"No!!!!!!!!!!" Lucy screamed. "Mama!!!!!!! Papa!!!!!!!! Noooooo!"
"You failed us Lucy...You could have stopped it...it's all your fault we died...All you fault!" the voice accused. Lucy sank to her knees. *
"I could have saved you...its all my fault..." For the first time in a long time, Lucy began to cry.
Lucy sat up quickly, breathing heavily.
'It was just a nightmare. It wasn't real.' She told herself. But she could not get her parents' voices out of her head. "It's your fault. All your fault!"
'What if it was my fault? What if I could have saved them and I didn't?'
"It's all my fault they're dead!" Lucy sobbed aloud. Lucy wrapped her arms around her knees and cried into her rough blanket.
The next morning brought more promise than the previous evening. When Lucy awoke, she carefully folded that blankets she used the night before and hid them away like Elaina had shown her. Though the events of her nightmare were still fresh in her mind, Lucy tried to forget the horror that had kept her up half the night crying tears that had not been shed for years. A knock on the door interrupted Lucy's thoughts. Elaina stuck her head in. "Morning little bit. Sleep well?"
"Yes, very well." Lucy lied, not wanting to worry the woman who was being so nice to her. Elaina gave her a bright smile, "Well come along then. I'll get us something for breakfast and then I'll show you where I was headed yesterday when I found you." Lucy tried to give as bright of a smile in return, but the remaining fragments of the nightmare lingering in her mind prevented it. Elaina gave her a concerned look. "Are you alright, Lucy?"
Lucy nodded quickly. Elaina didn't look quite convinced, but decided to drop the subject.
"Time to go then." Elaina and Lucy each took something out of the meager supply of food and then Elaina led Lucy out the back door of The Green Gator.
"Where are we going?" Lucy asked curiously. Elaina had to smile at the small girl. "You'll see when we get there." By the time the duo had reached their destination, Lucy's curiosity had driven away the remains of her nightmare.
"'Ere we are." Elaina announced. Lucy looked around her, the most beautiful site in her life filling her vision. On the far side of the park, a speaker stood above a crowd of people who would let out an occasional cheer when a point was made. On the other end, there were children playing, couples strolling and families picnicking. Lucy's eyes widened as she took everything in.
"What is this place?" Lucy asked. With a smile Elaina replied, "This is Hyde Park. Beautiful, ain't it? I could come here for hours and listen to the speeches." They made their way to the crowd of people. Lucy looked around excitedly. She recalled hearing about Hyde Park and other places like it, but it was the first time she had ever seen anything like it. For almost an hour they stayed there, listening intently to every word the speaker said. Lucy was entranced by the words coming from the man. His tone was gentle, but his words powerful enough to convey his message. Just then, a small cry from behind her startled Lucy away from the speech. She turned around to see a little girl, not much older than herself, looking around the crowd with terrified eyes. A wisp of honey colored hair had come out of the girl's braid as she frantically searched the crowd. Lucy stepped towards the girl.
"What's the matter? Did you loose something?" Lucy asked the girl in an attempt to calm her down. The girl's eyes were filled with tears as she replied, "I can't find my papa! He was right next to me but I let go of his hand for one moment and he was gone!" Lucy took the terrified girl's hand. "I'll 'elp you find 'im. Don't you worry."
If anyone had been paying attention to the two girls, they would have made quite a site for the 19th century townspeople of London. One dressed in the rags of a poor girl and the other in a beautiful blue silk dress. But none of that mattered to the children as Lucy led the upper class girl away from the large, overwhelming crowd.
"I'm sure your father is still here, looking for you at this very moment." Lucy assured the girl. "In fact, I bet he is more afraid then you."
This made the other girl smile. "Do you think so?"
"I know so." While the two girls looked, Lucy kept the other child's mind off the problem at hand by making her laugh. A man's sudden shout stopped the girls. A middle age man with fair hair touched with gray ran towards the children.
"Papa!" the girl cried, running into the man's arms.
"Oh dearest, thank the Lord I found you! You gave me quite a scare!" the man replied holding his daughter as tightly as he could.
"I'm sorry father, I didn't mean to."
"It's quite alright, child. I'm just happy I found you."
Lucy stood off to the side so she wouldn't interfere with the happy reunion. She was just about to turn and walk away when the little girl said to her father, "Papa, this girl helped me find you. I wandered into this horrid crowd and it was so scary but she brought me out."
The man turned towards Lucy with a warm smile. "Thank you for finding my daughter for me. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
Lucy gave the man a small smile, "I don't need anythin' sir. I should be thanking your daughter. It 'as been a long time since I 'ad someone my age to talk to. But I best be going now. I have to find someone I left in that crowd."
The little girl smiled at Lucy and turned to her father. "Papa, can we help my new friend find her way back?" While the father answered, Lucy smiled slightly. The words "new friend" echoed in her mind. She never really had a friend before, but she supposed that the girl was right. She was her friend. The girls walked beside the father back towards the crowd. The little girl clung tightly to her father's hand, not wanting to risk getting lost again but she also held Lucy's hand afraid of losing the other girl. Without warning, the crowd grew restless and surged forward. Someone bumped into Lucy, knocking the smaller girl over. As she fell, she lost her grip on her friend's hand. Lucy was quickly lost in the rush. She looked up to find the girl and her father but they had already been whisked away by the throng of people. Hurt filled Lucy's heart. Her friend was gone and at that moment Lucy realized that she had never even learned her name.
Elaina frantically searched the crowd for Lucy. She had looked away for just a second and the young girl had seemingly disappeared.
"Lucy? Little bit, where are you?" Elaina pushed through the crowd. She looked over just in time to see Lucy pulling herself up from the ground. Elaina managed to get over to her in a matter of seconds and helped Lucy the rest of the way up.
"Lucy, where 'ave you been? You nearly made me lose me 'ead with worry!"
Lucy pulled a hand across her forehead. "I'm sorry Elaina. I found a girl and she was lost so I helped 'er find 'er father. They were helping me find you, but then I was knocked down and they were pulled into the crowd. I just 'ope that they didn't lose each other again."
Elaina listened as Lucy told the story. "It's alright little bit. You were jus' trying to 'elp someone. But if anything like that 'appens again, tell me before you go running off, alright?"
Lucy agreed and Elaina told her it was time for them to return to The Green Gator.
The lamplights flickered lowly, their orange light gleaming on the damp cobblestone street. A young girl wandered down that street, shivering and very much alone in the world. She could not have been anymore than nine years old. She gazed warily into the shadows; not knowing what kind of evil could be lurking behind the black façade of night. Shouting and obnoxious laughter combined with the sound of a light-hearted piano tune could be heard from the decrepit buildings on either side of the street. The girl wrapped her arms around herself, trying to fight the bitter cold air creeping under her ragged clothes and chilling her to the bone. It had only taken moments for the life she had always known to shatter and reduce her to this place. She once had a family and a warm bed to sleep in at night. But one tragic accident had changed all that and she was forced to take to the streets. Lack of sleep and stress began to weigh down on the small shoulders of the girl. She knew that she wouldn't make it much further. Dragging her tired body into the very shadows she feared, she curled up in a corner of a grimy alleyway. Aware of the danger that could be surrounding her at that very moment but blissfully ignorant of the turn her life was about to take, young Lucy Harris fell into a restless sleep...
*The red and orange flames leaped in the air so high that they seemed to reach the stars in the heavens. Oily, black smoke billowed from the broken windows of the small, charred cottage. Lucy, barely a week over five years old, watched in horrified fascination as her life burned away. She could hear her mother screaming over the ferocious roar of the fire.
"Mommy!" she cried. A tall, broad man with a handsome face and dark eyes took her hand. It was her father.
"Stay here." he told her urgently. With a final glance at her, he ran into the raging inferno. Seconds later, the unstable structure that she had called home collapsed to the ground sending fiery embers flying through the air. Lucy never saw her family again.*
Elaina Truit slipped out the backdoor of The Green Gator. She knew that if she made it out before anyone else woke up that she wouldn't be missed until that evening.
'An' I'll be back by then.' she thought, definitely not wanting a repeat of the last time she came in late. Her eye had turned black and blue and she could barely touch her face for a week afterward without immense pain by the time Spider was through with her. Elaina quietly shut the door, stepping into the narrow alley. 'At least he has business at The Red Rat this week.' She turned away from the door and faced the alley. Something in the corner caught her eye. Elaina gasped. It was a girl! Cautiously, Elaina moved towards the petite child lying motionless on the ground. She sighed in relief when she saw the gentle rise and fall that signified that the girl was still breathing. Kneeling down next to her, Elaina gently shook the girl awake.
"Wake up, little one." She said in her thick Cockney accent.
Lucy's eyes opened slowly. When she saw Elaina she jumped to her feet. Noticing she had scared the girl half to death, Elaina spoke to her.
"Falling asleep out 'ere isn't the brightest thing to do, little bit." Elaina admonished the child. "These streets ain't exactly safe."
Lucy remained silent, not certain what to do. Elaina sensed the awkwardness.
"What's yer name, little bit?"
"Lucy...Lucy 'Arris." Came the soft reply. Elaina smiled at her. "Well, Lucy, you can call me Elaina. And this place you just happened to come upon is The Green Gator. Not the most respectable establishment in London, but my place of business and where I hang my hat up." Elaina gave the girl a closer look, taking in her dark chestnut curls and wide blue eyes. "So, what are we to do with you now. I can't very well just send you on your way. It was just pure luck that I found you out here instead of some drunken lout. For now, why don't you come inside? There's not much 'ere, but I'm sure we can find you something to eat and a place to spend the night that is better than this alley." Elaina held out her hand. Lucy took it, with a small but grateful smile and Elaina led her inside.
"Elaina? Elaina Truit, where in the devil were you?" a woman's voice snapped as Elaina re-entered The Green Gator. Elaina rolled her eyes.
"I just stepped into the alley for some air, Gweny. No need to call out Scotland Yard." Elaina replied with a hint of sarcasm. Guinevere was about to start in on one of her lectures, when her eyes fell on Lucy. Giving Elaina a look, she asked, "What is this?"
"A child Gweny. I believe you 'ave seen one before."
"I know that she is a child. But what is she doing here?"
Taking Guinevere aside so Lucy wouldn't hear, Elaina began to speak. "I found her asleep in the alley. I couldn't very well leave her out there. The poor thing is starving and you know as well as I do that she wouldn't last out there by herself."
"The Spider will never allow this!"
"What Spider doesn't know, won't hurt him. Or more importantly, the rest of us."
"And how exactly are you planning to keep her hidden from him?"
Elaina shrugged, "He'll be busy enough with 'is new house. He won't be around until he has business at The Red Rat under control. And when 'e does come around, I'll make sure she isn't. Come on Gweny! I'll take care of 'er."
Finally giving in, Guinevere just said, "Fine. Just keep her out of the way. And if Spider finds out, I knew nothing about it."
Elated, Elaina agreed and hurried back to Lucy. The child looked at her with curious eyes. Elaina patted her head.
"Let's get you some food."
After getting her feed and as cleaned up as one could be at The Green Gator, Elaina settled Lucy into an unused closet that was out of the way from the hustle of The Green Gator's main room. Using some extra blankets that she had found, she set up a small makeshift bed on the floor.
"I know it's not an upper class room, but it's the best I can do for now."
With a faint smile, Lucy replied, "It's better than the alley."
Elaina smiled back, "Now you get some rest and we'll talk more in the morning."
Lucy nodded, already starting to fall asleep. When she was certain that Lucy would be out for the night, Elaina quietly left the room. It was time for her to go to work.
* "Lucy..." The gentle voice was carried to the girl on a light breeze. "Lucy...Come to us Lucy...Over here..."
"Mama? Papa? Where are you?" Lucy cried to the wind.
"Over here..." the haunting voice replied. Lucy began to run through the dense forest.
"Faster, dear one... You'll be late..."
"Late for what?" the voices didn't answer Lucy's inquiry. Lucy ran faster, getting hit in the face with small branches and sticker thorns. But Lucy didn't care. She was going to get to her parents this time. Finally, Lucy reached a clearing. There was her house! The small cottage that she had lived in with her parents. Lucy ran towards it. She was so close, she could almost touch the wooden sides of the structure. Suddenly, the house burst into flames.
"No!!!!!!!!!!" Lucy screamed. "Mama!!!!!!! Papa!!!!!!!! Noooooo!"
"You failed us Lucy...You could have stopped it...it's all your fault we died...All you fault!" the voice accused. Lucy sank to her knees. *
"I could have saved you...its all my fault..." For the first time in a long time, Lucy began to cry.
Lucy sat up quickly, breathing heavily.
'It was just a nightmare. It wasn't real.' She told herself. But she could not get her parents' voices out of her head. "It's your fault. All your fault!"
'What if it was my fault? What if I could have saved them and I didn't?'
"It's all my fault they're dead!" Lucy sobbed aloud. Lucy wrapped her arms around her knees and cried into her rough blanket.
The next morning brought more promise than the previous evening. When Lucy awoke, she carefully folded that blankets she used the night before and hid them away like Elaina had shown her. Though the events of her nightmare were still fresh in her mind, Lucy tried to forget the horror that had kept her up half the night crying tears that had not been shed for years. A knock on the door interrupted Lucy's thoughts. Elaina stuck her head in. "Morning little bit. Sleep well?"
"Yes, very well." Lucy lied, not wanting to worry the woman who was being so nice to her. Elaina gave her a bright smile, "Well come along then. I'll get us something for breakfast and then I'll show you where I was headed yesterday when I found you." Lucy tried to give as bright of a smile in return, but the remaining fragments of the nightmare lingering in her mind prevented it. Elaina gave her a concerned look. "Are you alright, Lucy?"
Lucy nodded quickly. Elaina didn't look quite convinced, but decided to drop the subject.
"Time to go then." Elaina and Lucy each took something out of the meager supply of food and then Elaina led Lucy out the back door of The Green Gator.
"Where are we going?" Lucy asked curiously. Elaina had to smile at the small girl. "You'll see when we get there." By the time the duo had reached their destination, Lucy's curiosity had driven away the remains of her nightmare.
"'Ere we are." Elaina announced. Lucy looked around her, the most beautiful site in her life filling her vision. On the far side of the park, a speaker stood above a crowd of people who would let out an occasional cheer when a point was made. On the other end, there were children playing, couples strolling and families picnicking. Lucy's eyes widened as she took everything in.
"What is this place?" Lucy asked. With a smile Elaina replied, "This is Hyde Park. Beautiful, ain't it? I could come here for hours and listen to the speeches." They made their way to the crowd of people. Lucy looked around excitedly. She recalled hearing about Hyde Park and other places like it, but it was the first time she had ever seen anything like it. For almost an hour they stayed there, listening intently to every word the speaker said. Lucy was entranced by the words coming from the man. His tone was gentle, but his words powerful enough to convey his message. Just then, a small cry from behind her startled Lucy away from the speech. She turned around to see a little girl, not much older than herself, looking around the crowd with terrified eyes. A wisp of honey colored hair had come out of the girl's braid as she frantically searched the crowd. Lucy stepped towards the girl.
"What's the matter? Did you loose something?" Lucy asked the girl in an attempt to calm her down. The girl's eyes were filled with tears as she replied, "I can't find my papa! He was right next to me but I let go of his hand for one moment and he was gone!" Lucy took the terrified girl's hand. "I'll 'elp you find 'im. Don't you worry."
If anyone had been paying attention to the two girls, they would have made quite a site for the 19th century townspeople of London. One dressed in the rags of a poor girl and the other in a beautiful blue silk dress. But none of that mattered to the children as Lucy led the upper class girl away from the large, overwhelming crowd.
"I'm sure your father is still here, looking for you at this very moment." Lucy assured the girl. "In fact, I bet he is more afraid then you."
This made the other girl smile. "Do you think so?"
"I know so." While the two girls looked, Lucy kept the other child's mind off the problem at hand by making her laugh. A man's sudden shout stopped the girls. A middle age man with fair hair touched with gray ran towards the children.
"Papa!" the girl cried, running into the man's arms.
"Oh dearest, thank the Lord I found you! You gave me quite a scare!" the man replied holding his daughter as tightly as he could.
"I'm sorry father, I didn't mean to."
"It's quite alright, child. I'm just happy I found you."
Lucy stood off to the side so she wouldn't interfere with the happy reunion. She was just about to turn and walk away when the little girl said to her father, "Papa, this girl helped me find you. I wandered into this horrid crowd and it was so scary but she brought me out."
The man turned towards Lucy with a warm smile. "Thank you for finding my daughter for me. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
Lucy gave the man a small smile, "I don't need anythin' sir. I should be thanking your daughter. It 'as been a long time since I 'ad someone my age to talk to. But I best be going now. I have to find someone I left in that crowd."
The little girl smiled at Lucy and turned to her father. "Papa, can we help my new friend find her way back?" While the father answered, Lucy smiled slightly. The words "new friend" echoed in her mind. She never really had a friend before, but she supposed that the girl was right. She was her friend. The girls walked beside the father back towards the crowd. The little girl clung tightly to her father's hand, not wanting to risk getting lost again but she also held Lucy's hand afraid of losing the other girl. Without warning, the crowd grew restless and surged forward. Someone bumped into Lucy, knocking the smaller girl over. As she fell, she lost her grip on her friend's hand. Lucy was quickly lost in the rush. She looked up to find the girl and her father but they had already been whisked away by the throng of people. Hurt filled Lucy's heart. Her friend was gone and at that moment Lucy realized that she had never even learned her name.
Elaina frantically searched the crowd for Lucy. She had looked away for just a second and the young girl had seemingly disappeared.
"Lucy? Little bit, where are you?" Elaina pushed through the crowd. She looked over just in time to see Lucy pulling herself up from the ground. Elaina managed to get over to her in a matter of seconds and helped Lucy the rest of the way up.
"Lucy, where 'ave you been? You nearly made me lose me 'ead with worry!"
Lucy pulled a hand across her forehead. "I'm sorry Elaina. I found a girl and she was lost so I helped 'er find 'er father. They were helping me find you, but then I was knocked down and they were pulled into the crowd. I just 'ope that they didn't lose each other again."
Elaina listened as Lucy told the story. "It's alright little bit. You were jus' trying to 'elp someone. But if anything like that 'appens again, tell me before you go running off, alright?"
Lucy agreed and Elaina told her it was time for them to return to The Green Gator.