For the past few weeks, Lucy sailed on the next ship that was sailing to London. Finally, she arrived. One night when the ship was in port, she waited until every member of the crew had left and when the captain departed, she carefully and quietly made her way off of the vessel.

"I'm here. I'm finally here." She said as she stood at the entrance to the town. "It's… much darker than I thought it would be."

Her stomach suddenly growled; Lucy had run out of food earlier that day and she was starving. Thinking fast, she headed in the direction she thought was the right way to go. Hours of walking had passed and sitting on the corner of Fleet Street was an old shop of some kind, boarded up and abandoned many years ago; the sign above the front door read "Mrs. Lovett's".

'What's so special about this place?' Lucy asked herself before her stomach continued to hungrily growl.

She sighed in annoyance. But when she looked away just for a moment, she caught slight movement in the corner of her eye. With her curiosity kicking in, she turned and looked back at the building, watching the enormous window in the roof. After a few moments, concentrating all her senses on the building, she finally saw something solid.

She saw a person move.

She peeked in through the filthy windows and saw that this place used to be some kind of restaurant. She went over to the outdoor eating area and noticed a set of stairs leading up to a door on the second floor. Suddenly, there was a loud rumble of thunder followed by a crash of lightning. It was starting to rain. Thinking fast, Lucy ran up the stairs and knocked at the door without hesitation.

Silence.

She waited for a few moments, then knocked on the door again. More silence. She then spoke, "Hello! Excuse me? Is there anyone in there?"

She waited for an answer as the rain continued to come down hard. Then, finally, breaking the silence in a hollow voice, someone replied, "The shop isn't opened yet. Please go away."

Lucy, surprised and somewhat shocked by the rude response, replied, "Hello? May I come in?"

"No, go away."

"Please, I have nowhere to go. It's really cold and rainy out here and I need a place to stay." She reasoned to the voice inside the shop.

"I won't tell you again. Go away, beggar." The voice said rudely.

"I'm not leaving until you open up and let me in."

"Then, you'll be sitting there for an awfully long time."

"Fine." The little girl said in conclusion as she sat down in front of the shop, staring at the door.

The minutes passed as the rain went on. Stomach growling, Lucy fidgeted a little and looked around, trying to keep her mind off of the current condition she was in. She looked up at the door again, struggling to keep a hold of her conviction to wait for the invitation to be let inside.

An hour passed and it looked like this rain wasn't going to stop. Finally, Lucy had enough. She stood up and she was about to grab the handle and push the door open herself when she heard something unlock from the other side. The door opened and a man answered; he wore a deep brown vest over top a frilly long sleeve shirt. His medium length, messy raven black hair, save for a singular white stripe off right from the center, shined with the flashes of lightning. His eyes were dark and seemed sunken in, as if he had troubled dreams keeping him awake. His skin color was almost as white as a ghost, and his thin, almost malnourished looking, build complimented that feature. If she remembered correctly, he was easily just about as tall as her father.

He looked down at Lucy with wide eyes; he didn't expect to see her there. She was completely soaked and shivering from the cold and from the looks of it, she was almost on the verge of tears.

"Come in, child. You'll catch your death of cold." He said in a hollow, but friendly tone, which was a welcoming thing to hear after hearing his passively rude tone while she was outside the door, Lucy thought.

Without hesitation, the man ushered the little girl inside. Shutting the door behind him, he took her over to the rickety bed in one corner of the room and eased her onto it. She took off her cloak, grabbed a blanket, and wrapped it around her shoulders, hoping to get warm.

"Wait here. I'll light a fire and make you some tea to warm you up." He said in that same tone from before.

He crossed over to a small stove in another corner of the room and took out some matches. The sincerity in the low, mystifying tone of the barber's voice made Lucy comply without further anxiety. She rubbed her shoulders and looked up to see her new environment. She saw that this place didn't have a whole lot; a lone cushioned chair as the centerpiece, a vanity and mirror on the far side of the room along with the stove to provide warmth and light, a trunk, another mirror – which was broken – and a little dresser near the bed. It wasn't homey by any means; the wallpaper was peeling and the wooden floorboards appeared as if they would give way at any moment. Despite this state of dilapidation, it was a safe haven for Lucy at the moment and was perfectly fine in her eyes.

"There we go. Come here and get warm." The man said; Lucy got up and sat down near the stove.

Two teacups were set on the floor, one next to the little girl and the other a short distance away. He poured some tea into each cup and set the kettle back onto the stove before he sat down on the floor next to her. Lucy took a sip from her cup; the man did the same. Before Lucy could break the silence of the room with a question, her stomach did it for her. She blushed, but the man merely got up went out the door, quickly came back up with a hot pie on a plate, and placed it in front of her.

"Forgive my preparations." The man said. "I didn't have time to go to the market earlier today. I hope this will be enough for you."

Lucy looked at the small meal before her, considering it might not completely fill her up.

"Thank you." She said anyway before taking a small bite out of the pie.

The pie itself had a strange flavor and texture, she didn't wish to be rude or hurt the man's feelings, so she didn't spit it out. The man nodded at the little girl's polite attitude before a thought sprang to mind.

"What were you doing out in the rain all alone?" He asked; she looked away from him.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." Lucy replied hesitantly.

"I understand. Perhaps we should properly introduce ourselves."

"Alright… My name is Lucy."

"…My name is Todd, Sweeney Todd."