The Demon Barber is Alive!
Chapter 29: Catching Up, Apprenticeships and Soap
A/N:
Sorry if this chapter has no point but it's something I've been meaning to do for ages.
Driven does the 'Imma cut you' look as she laughs and watches Mr. Desmond Tiny appear in a teleporting device. Charlie grunts in amazement and the other unicorns rush off.
(If you don't know who Mr. Tiny is you should read The Darren Shan Saga by Darren Shan, HINT: Desmond Tiny, shorten the Desmond to Des and you get Des Tiny or Destiny. Mr. Destiny, he wears a yellow suit, green gumboots and has a mysterious heart shaped watch and is fairly short and has a very mocking attitude.)
"Well, well, well…" He walks forward looking at driven, "Wait a minute! You're not Darren's replacement!"
"Hello, Des, m' buddy! Hehehehehe…"She smiles.
"This isn't funny…little girl, you shouldn't meddle with the meddler." He scowls.
She watches him look around for a place of exit, "A shame that you won't be leaving…"
"Why?" He asks.
"Well, you may be the most powerful force on earth but my awesomenessnessness overpowers you!"
"Very, well, "His mouth returns to a frown as he realises that she is right, "What do you want with little ol' me?"
"You are going to disclaim for me, drivenbyrevenge!"
"Why me?"
"REVENGE!!!! For what you did to Darren, you screwed up everything!"
"Tis my nature!" He smiles.
"Alright, thankyou for accepting the job, WELCOME ABOARD!" She sticks her tongue out at him.
"What's in it for me?" He straightens out his suit.
She grinds her teeth at the little man, "Life and a Sense of Purpose,
Mr. T!"
"It's Mr. Tiny, to you, girl,"
"Then you'll call me driven or 'your highness' Now disclaim, gumboot man!"
"Driven doesn't own a thing…except for me at the moment."
She claps for him, "Yes! Very good, Des!"
It's just past midnight and Sweeney is still moping. Although, being Sweeney he's enjoying it. He looks around the room, from his chair, over to his razors. He can't stop thinking of that blasted puddle. With a groan he rises, stiffly from the chair and picks out a razor from the box, silently, he begins pacing along the room.
SCENE CHANGE!
Johanna and Anthony have grown tired of sleeping on separate couches in Nellie lounge room and Johanna is laying awake eyes dancing over the shadows in the room. The eyes fix them selves on her sleeping fiancé and she mumbles to the shadows, "One day, Ant, I'll live with you, we'll be so happy…one day, I…promise. She's wide awake, thanks to the footsteps upstairs. What's he doing now? Polishing the floorboards? She gets up and wanders to the kitchen, plans forming in her pretty little head as she grabs a gin bottle and one glass. She passes the shelf on her way out and gazes at an odd jar of silvery liquid. Strange… Silently she tiptoes up the stairs to the parlour. She knocks on the door.
Sweeney turns quickly to see Johanna at the door, bottle and glass, in hand. He opens the door, "Johanna, you should be sleeping…"
She walks in, "Perhaps, as should you, you hypocrite!" it's a joke, said with a laugh.
"Well, you have my wit, Johanna, and yet it seems I know nothing of you…" He takes the bottle as she offers it and pours himself a glass.
A similar look takes over her face, "That's why I wish to talk with you…but I'm not sure what to ask first, I never knew you."
"I'm Sweeney Todd, London's best barber…I resign at 186 Fleet Street. That's about all there is to it." He swallows the gin down.
"No…there's much more, father, it goes deeper like the night you threatened me. Your name is not Sweeney Todd, my mother's name was Lucy and you keep many secrets from me, from everyone, your past."
"Past…" He mumbles, "Foggy, distant, hellish…yet beautiful...past." He holds her close and says, "I'm sorry, you wouldn't understand."
She breaks away, "I want to understand…we have until daylight…I will listen."
"Okay…where shall I start?" He gulps some of the gin down and they both sit, crossed legged on the floorboards, "Well...you're right my name wasn't always Sweeney Todd, it's what I use now…but I was once a happy, carefree, naive," He spits the last word in disgust, "Benjamin Barker. Lucy was my wife, and you were very young…so young, look" He gets up and hands her the photos of Lucy and her as a baby. She stares at them.
"Go on…"
He bit his lip, "Nothing could have stopped what happened but sometimes I find myself wondering about it. I loved Lucy, like life and even more. She, and you, Johanna, were stolen." He refilled the glass.
Now it is she who says a word as if it is a cockroach crawling from her mouth, "Turpin."
He doesn't even falter slightly at the mention of the man who destroyed his happy little world, "Yes, I was sent to Australia."
"Why did he do it?"
"Jealousy." There was no anger to his voice, Johanna's presence was somehow, calming, "He wanted Lucy to be his so he took you both…so tiny, you were far too small for all that, you had no idea
Johanna…" He squeezed her hand.
"What was she like?"
He chokes on memories and all he can say is, "Yellow hair. Beautiful smile, you look like her."
"That's why you never talk to me? I remind you too much of her."
He smiles vaguely, "Yes, you look just like my Lucy." He lifted the gin to his mouth and swallowed it down as his daughter asked yet another question.
"Australia, what was it like?"
He gives a short answer, "Hot, sandy…air like salt and dust…but my mind was never far from you, and Lucy,"
"I would have been Johanna Barker," She says slowly.
"You are Johanna Barker, you cannot be Johanna Todd. You are a barker, through and through and I'm proud, of you. Although you are like we were, young and so very naïve."
"Yes, I fear I am a little naïve. Continue please, father.
"Well…fifteen years later I returned to London, broken, tainted and shadowed. Anthony brought me, he's shaping up into a man nicely." He smiled at her.
"He…saved me, from that life…"She whispered slowly.
"He's very bright." Mr. Todd drank the rest of the glass and looked back at Johanna, "Tell me something about you, anything, please."
"Well…my earliest memory is my birds, one was named Hope the other was nameless but sometimes I called her Joy…They sang so beautifully, they were my reason and my life." \
Sweeney almost laughed. Reason and life? Where had he heard that one before?!
Johanna continued, "I remember once, my twelfth birthday we had a party, no children just the judge's friends. It was the first and last time that I was allowed outside of the house. I was happy to be out! There was a girl, about my age walking down the street across the road; she waved at me so I ran off to greet her. It was the beadle who dragged me back, kicking, screaming, crying and very embarrassed. The worst part was when Turpin screamed at me and struck me hard across the face, in front of all those people…they just laughed. I went straight to my room and was never let outside again."
"Oh," He frowns as she points to a scar along her jaw line. Why hadn't he noticed that before?
"What did you call him?" The barber fears the worst.
She smiles, "Sir, mainly or Judge Turpin, neer father…he made it very clear that he was not my father."
"So he could marry you! Urgh…" He fumes in disgust.
"I refused, how could I say yes? It would only tie me further into his web of tricks and lies." She saw her father's glass was empty and promptly filled it up.
"Bedlam, that bastard sent my baby to Bedlam!" He tugs at his hair in frustration.
"I wasn't in there long, thanks to Ant, It wasn't as scary as it was strange, those woman, eyes full of confusion and fear, keeping to themselves. Screaming and crying at night and always shaking," She begins to tremble and Mr. Todd puts his hands to her shoulders and, slowly she calms down.
"Oh my poor little lamb…how did this ever happen…?"
"I was wondering if I could go and live with Ant?" She watches him sip on the gin.
"You're old enough to decide for yourself."
"Do you think she would've like him?" Johanna stutters.
"Yes, pet, she'd have loved him, she loved everyone. A loving person, beautiful, inside and out." He says shakily.
She stays silent for a while before replying, "I miss her, I know I was young when she died, but I remember her and I miss her."
He is silent and she says, "Would you teach me to cut hair?"
"Why?"
"Please?"
"Why?"
"I want to be like you…" she tries.
"No you don't.…trust me, but I'll teach you, since Will ran off I've had no-one to assist me…you're hired, now get some sleep." He throws her a .pillow from his bed."
"I won't be sleeping tonight, father!" She laughs.
"We'll see," He smiles. (Yeah, Sweeney Todd can smile!)
A few moments later as Sweeney drains another glass of gin Johanna yawns.
She gets into the chair of doom and curls up around the pillow.
"I thought you weren't tired?" He laughs.
"I fear that tiredness is taking over, goodnight."
He smiles and strokes her hair, "Yes…sleep, goodnight."
She falls asleep.
He smiles down on his daughter.
My Johanna, how many nights did you sleep in fear and tears? Now you are safe, always, my dear. I've missed you, but now you're mine. We'll be the same one day…maybe.
Suddenly he hears a voice.
She's beautiful, Ben…she does have your wit!
He looks around before realising the voice is in his head.
Lucy? You're dead.
Yes, thankyou Ben.
I'm sorry, I didn't know, it was wrong I'm so sorry Lucy.
Stop. It's fine; you freed me from the walls of insanity that I built around myself…it's wrong of you to kill, though. Turpin was a man as well, just a confused one.
I had too even things out.
Surely, Ben, you can stop.
Benjamin would, I'm not Ben anymore, Lucy.
I know, Mr. Todd. Sweeney Todd. Or Mr. T…that's what SHE calls you, I've seen you smile inside when she says your name, you love her now.
No! No, no, no! I LOVE YOU!!!
"Benjamin loved me, yes…Sweeney loves Nellie. You tell me you've left Ben behind, if that's true then let me go, please!
I can't lose what I have left of you.
What? You can't stand to lose what you have left of me! What do you have left of me?
Memories…
Yes, Ben. Dark, shadowed memories, of a past that feels so far away…
I miss you more than anything Lucy, I'd give anything to have you back…But all I have is your memory, the wavering image of your eyes and your smile. Your voice runs through my head every minute and I can't bear the thought of losing that. I need what's left of you. You're mine for the rest of my life because I can't let go.
That's a weakness Ben, it shows fear. Please…let me go. Do you want the nightmares to stop?
I take the nightmares as a blessing; anything that includes you is a blessing.
You're as naïve as ever, Benjamin.
I don't love her anyway…(Yeesh! Stubborn, much?)
Yes, you do. You don't know it but you need her, too, more than she needs you.
Lucy, what are you doing in my mind?
I'm not Lucy. Lucy's dead.
What are you?
A memory, a sad one, one that needs to be let go. Remember me, Ben but don't cling…you have been through Hell but still have love left deep in your soul, give it to the lonely baker, you need it as much as she does.
Lucy…why are you doing this?
Silence….Sweeney knew that that was the end of the conversation.
THE NEXT MORNING
Queenie wakes, she's been in her room for days now, only coming out to eat and use the bathroom. She's been avoiding Toby. Today, however, she won't be. She gets up and does a general morning ritual and goes outside to find Toby.
She finds him outside with a handful of goat hair and a near hairless goat.
"What are you doing?" She says.
"Evenin' this out..." He pulls at the hair.
"Why" She sits down next to him.
"Because then I can spin it and use it to make rugs and things."
"She looks from his shabby clothes and up to his messy hair, "Are you making money with this?"
"Yep!" He smiles.
She laughs cruelly, "Then buy yourself a proper outfit and some soap!"
He watches her walk away and hangs his head in the shameful realisation that he is no longer a child. Having a job isn't enough to be an adult, he has too look right.
Still though, that bracelet had cost him more than a week's worth of earnings. He hisses angrily, "Spoilt Bitch…"
A/N: Driven is lounging on a shoe shaped chair watching Mr. Tiny play with his watch muttering about dragons, little people and how lovely it would be to put Driven in the lake of souls.
Hello faithful readers!!! :D I would really love some reviews for this, I spent a lot of time planning it and would love your opinions, please!
