The next morning, Lucy woke up in Mr. Todd's room. She rubbed her eyes and looked out the window in the roof. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still pretty grey and cloudy. She got up and went to the mirror on the other end of the room. When she approached, Lucy finally got a closer look at all of Mr. Todd's tools; there was a medium-sized porcelain bowl with a matching pitcher, a couple of towels, a few brushes, a pair of shears, and a small wooden box in the right-hand corner. The box was beautiful and it caught her eye almost instantly; she opened it and looked inside to see seven silver straight razors, but she didn't know what they were.

She slowly reached out to touch one of them, but a pale, cold hand suddenly grabbed her by the wrist. She gasped and looked up to see Mr. Todd standing to her right with a rather grim look on his face.

"Oh! Mr. Todd, sir! I'm sorry, I-I-I didn't hear you come in." She stuttered, trying to get her arm free.

"Don't touch those." He said, slowly loosening his grip.

"Why? What are they?" Lucy rubbed her wrist; she was shocked at how cold Mr. Todd's flesh felt.

"They are my tools. I use them for my craft, every single one of them."

"You use them for shaving your customers?"

"Yes, but I'd rather you didn't touch them."

"Why not?"

"Because…" He took a razor and opened it. "These blades are very sharp and if you're not careful, you could very well hurt yourself." He put the razor back to its proper place and closed the box. "…Could you do me a favor, Miss Lucy?"

"What is it?"

Mr. Todd opened a drawer in the dresser, took out a small satin pouch, and put it into Lucy's open hand.

"I need you to go to the market and fetch some groceries for me." He said. "There are roughly five or eight pound notes and forty shillings in this pouch alone. It isn't a lot, but it should be fine. Can you do that?"

"Oh, alright." Lucy said, heading towards the door. "But, are you sure you want me to go alone? I'm still pretty little."

"You'll manage. Be sure to spend this money wisely, and no dilly-dallying on your way there. And once you've purchased enough, come straight back here. You're not to stop, you're not to speak; you are to go to the market and purchase only what you need. Do you understand?"

"I do. I promise I'll be as quick as I can."

"Good. And if you have any change left over, return it to me."

"Yes, sir."

Lucy nodded her head, grabbed her scarf and coat, and went out the door.

"I'll be waiting." The barber whispered as he heard the girl descend the stairs.

As she walked down the dirty street, Lucy tried to remember the places she went to during her short time in this old city.

'Which way is the market place again?' She asked herself before she was pushed to the ground by something from behind.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" She cried out as she tried to sit up.

"Sorry." A young voice said.

Lucy looked and saw a young boy standing before her; he had light brown hair, dark eyes, and fair skin and he looked to be the same age as her. He offered his hand to her; she reluctantly took it and he pulled her back onto her feet.

"What are you doing?" She asked again.

"I'm very sorry about that. I was just—" The boy said before a pair of adult voices interrupted him.

"I think he went this way!" One voice said.

"After him!" The other added.

He froze and stared Lucy in the eye. "Hide me!"

Unsure of what to do, Lucy looked around and told him, "Um… get in that barrel. Quick."

The boy quickly jumped into the barrel just as two officers came around the corner; they looked around and could only see Lucy.

"Excuse me, young lady. Have you seen a small boy come this way?" One officer asked.

"A boy?" Lucy innocently asked.

"Yes, where is he? Have you seen him?" The second officer asked.

"No, sir; I haven't. I didn't see anyone come by." She lied, hiding her hands behind her back.

"Hmmmm… Very well." The first officer said before he and his partner continued down the road.

Lucy waited for a minute or two before going over to the barrel and looking inside.

"They're gone." She whispered.

The boy's head popped out and he heaved a sigh of relief as he climbed out.

"Thanks. I thought they'd get me for sure this time." He said.

"Of course." The little girl said. "Wait, why are those men after you?"

"For trying to steal some bread from the baker." The boy said. "They caught sight of me before I could even grab some."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Lucy said before she took out the pouch. She opened it, counted out five shillings, and gave them to the boy. "I hope this will be enough."

"What? Oh, no. I can't accept this."

"No, I insist. You need this money more than I do."

"I-I don't know what to say, except… thanks."

"You're welcome. Oh! Before you go, can you point me in the right direction of the marketplace? I need to fetch a few groceries."

"Oh, sure. You just need to keep going down this road and make a right turn, then a left, and you'll be there in no time."

"Thank you."

Lucy was just about to walk away when the boy stopped her.

"Wait! I never got your name." He said.

"Oh, it's Lucy. And you are?" She asked.

"I'm Benny." The boy replied.

"Nice to meet you, Benny. I hope to see you around." Lucy said politely before walking away.

"…You too." Benny whispered as she vanished into the crowds of adults.

Lucy had found her way to the market and found what she needed; after gathering everything up, she quickly went back in the direction of Fleet Street. As she got closer to the shop, she suddenly heard a strange sound. She turned her head towards it, but nothing was there; she recognized it as the frightened cries of a cat. She bent down to look into an empty crate and she gasped; she saw a dirty black cat and it looked like it was in pain. Thinking fast, she carefully picked up the cat and held it for a minute or two before it slowly calmed down.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" She asked in a gentle voice.

"I was going to ask you that." A new voice said.

Lucy jumped in surprise and nearly dropped the cat; she turned around, looked up, and saw a man in expensive looking clothing standing before her. His brow was furrowed and he had a certain glint in his eyes, and it wasn't friendly. The cat suddenly hissed at the sight of him and swiped at him with its paw.

"Child, you had better control your mangy feline or I'll have to punish you for it." The man rudely said.

"Oh, um… this cat isn't mine. I just found her." Lucy said shyly.

"Is that so? And pray tell, where are you heading, little girl?"

"…I need to go."

The man suddenly reached out and grabbed Lucy's shoulder, preventing her from getting away. "No, wait. I mean no harm, I promise you."

'Then why don't I believe you?'

"Sir, could you please let go of me?" Lucy asked, trying to get herself free.

"What's your hurry? I just want to talk." The man said, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

With her, Lucy did the only thing she could think of; she stepped down hard on the man's foot, which made him cry out in pain. While he was distracted, Lucy grabbed her groceries and ran off with the black cat following close behind. She ran and ran until she finally reached Mr. Todd's shop. She ran in and shut the door behind her, breathing heavily.

"Took you long enough."

Lucy looked and saw Mr. Todd standing by his dresser and polishing one of his razors.

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Todd sir. I just, um…" She stammered, trying to find the right words.

"No need to explain yourself." Mr. Todd said, turning his head to look at her. "I saw it all from the window." He then took one of the razors out of its box, walked over to Lucy, and gave her the blade. "Before you say anything, I know I told you not to touch these, but… it's clear to me that you need some way to protect yourself. Just be very careful with it and use it only for emergencies."

Lucy gazed at the silver barber instrument in her hand; she looked back up at Mr. Todd.

"Thank you." She said.

"You're welcome." He said before glancing over to see the cat that had followed Lucy back to the shop. "And I see you've brought someone with you."

"What do you…?"

"Nothing… Perhaps we should keep her."

"Keep her?"

"Why not? She seems to really like you. And believe it or not, I already have a name for her."

"What is it?"

"…Nellie."

"Nellie?"

"I just think it suits her. What do you think?"

Lucy bent down and gently rubbed the cat's head and scratched behind her ears; she thought about it and realized Mr. Todd was right.

"Hmmmmm… Nellie it is." She said as the feline purred contently.