Many thanks to my readers and reviewers AnimeOtakuBara, linalove, MireiLovett1846, Californication13, MidnaLovesLinktotheendoftime and SweetySweeney. You guys rock!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sweeney Todd. Obviously.
Joy awoke sweating with her hand to her throat. It was just a dream. Just a dream. She thought to calm herself down. She looked over to the chest where Signore Pirelli was hidden. It was still closed, and Pirelli was, hopefully, still in it; she was not going to check. She sat up from her cot and looked around. Mr. Todd was asleep in his chair, and the boy was downstairs with Mrs. Lovett. After Sweeney had killed Pirelli she had taken a nap on her cot. She rubbed her eyes and stretched and made her cot then smoothed down her dress and went into the washroom. She washed her face and redid her hair; tying it up with the ribbon Nellie had given her. She looked under her bed and pulled out her blue wrap and hat, then put her brown shoes on again. She made sure she had not wakened Sweeney, then went down the stairs to the kitchen. Her stomach growled as soon as she walked in the door. Mrs. Lovett was off doing something in another part of the building and the boy was sitting at one of the tables.
"'Ello," he said, "My name's Toby. I saw you upstairs cleanin' up the spilled tea. Are you and Mr. Todd married?" he asked. Joy blushed and shook her head.
"But you're sharin' a room with him!" Toby exclaimed.
"Different cot." Joy mouthed.
"Well still, I don't think it's right." Toby said. Joy nodded her head dismissively, trying not to laugh at the boy.
"'Ey, why didn' you say 'different cot' out loud?" he asked, "Cat got your tongue?"
Joy smiled sadly and shook her head. "I'm a mute." She mouthed.
"You're a mule?!" Toby exclaimed. Joy chuckled silently, "I'm a mute." She repeated, this time using sign language subconsciously.
"Oh!" Toby said, "Beggin' your pardon, mum, I didn't mean to offend."
Joy smiled and dismissed the comment with a flick of her hand.
"Well, the good thing is you can use sign language, 'cos Signore Pirelli made me learn it, in case we had a mute or deaf person want to buy anything." He said.
"You know sign language?" Joy signed, hoping it was true.
"That's right, mum." Toby signed back. Joy could have kissed him she was so happy, but she did not. Her father had been deaf, so she had learned sign language to communicate with him. Her mother, on the other hand, had been blind. There was no way to communicate with her except through her father. Joy's parents had not always been deaf or blind, but on her seventh birthday Beadle Bamford blinded her mother; he had beat her for a crime she did not commit and while doing so, his walking stick hit her eye. Her father became deaf because he was in the army and worked the canons; he had foolishly not worn any protection to his ears. She shivered suddenly, not from the cold, but from the memories.
"Sorry." She signed.
"You never did tell me your name." Toby said.
"Joy." She mouthed and signed.
"That's a nice name." Toby said.
"Do you want anything to eat?"
"Yes please! I'd hate to tell Mrs. Lovett, though, she gave me a meat pie and I had two! They were good, but now I want something other than a meat pie." Toby said, "Don't tell her I said this, but they aren't very good." He said. Joy smiled and put her finger to her lips.
"You go tell Mrs. Lovett that I'm off to the market to get a few things, you can come along too if you like." Joy mouthed, she had to sign it though, because Toby didn't understand anything she had mouthed.
"Okay!" he said and ran off to find Eleanor.
He came back frowning. "Mrs. Lovett said to wait 'til tomorrow; she said it's going to get dark soon."
Joy sighed and began to look around the kitchen. She was hoping to find something that wasn't meat. She finally found some bread and a small block of cheese.
"Oh good!" Toby said excitedly. Joy sat down across from Toby and split the bread and cheese in half, while watching Nellie run upstairs to the barber's lodgings.
"Where's Mrs. Lovett going?" Toby asked.
Where does it look like? Joy thought, she refused to answer his question; it was too self-explanatory.
"Sorry, stupid question." Toby said as if reading her thoughts. Joy looked up when she heard the door open, "Nellie? Back so soon? You went up there about two minutes ago!" She mouthed.
"I know, love, Mr. Todd has a guest." Nellie said.
"Who?" Toby asked, the bread in his mouth made it sound more like "moo".
"Judge Turpin." She said simply, "But I don't want either of you goin' up there until later this evening, all right?" she said.
"Why?" Toby asked.
"Mr. T likes 'is privacy." Mrs. Lovett said quickly. A little too quickly… Joy thought. "Now, how about some of that gin Mr. T promised, hmm?" Eleanor asked.
Toby nodded his head excitedly, "Yes, please!" He said.
"Alright, come with me, love. Joy, you stay here, watch for customers." Nellie took Toby into the parlor while Joy finished eating, watching out the window all the while. She watched as the same boy who had been there that morning ran up the steps, and then, Judge Turpin came flying out the door. She ran and got Mrs. Lovett and signed for Toby to stay downstairs. Toby was fine as long as he had his gin.
Mrs. Lovett and Joy ran up the stairs whilst Anthony came flying down.
"All this shoutin' an' runnin' about wha's happened?" Nellie asked. Joy nodded.
"I had 'im." Sweeney whispered, he looked bewildered and lost.
"Yes, I know, but then I saw 'em both runnin' down the stairs, well, Joy did."
"I had him! His throat was bare beneath my hand,"
"There, there, dear, calm down." Nellie said worriedly.
"No! I had him! His throat was there and he'll never come again!"
Joy was confused. She didn't know what Mr. Todd was talking about. Mrs. Lovett cocked her head and looked at Sweeney despairingly.
"Easy now, hush love hush, I keep tellin' you-"
"When!?" Sweeney interrupted.
"-What's your rush?"
"Why did I wait? You told me to wait! Now he'll never come again!" he walked towards Mrs. Lovett threateningly. Joy swallowed and went and sat on her cot so as not to draw attention towards herself.
Mr. Todd walked over to the window, "There's a hole in the world like a great black pit and it's filled with people who are filled with shi+ and the vermin of the world inhabit it." He chanted. "But not for long…" he said, a look of evil joy came across his face. Mrs. Lovett had a look of confusion and worry on her face and Joy was rocking back and forth on her cot.
"They all deserve to die! Tell you why, Joy, Mrs. Lovett, tell you why. Because in all of the whole human race, Mrs. Lovett, there are two kinds of men and only two! There's the one staying put in his proper place and one with his foot in the other one's face! Look at me, Joy; Mrs. Lovett look at you, no we all deserve to die! Even you!" he turned and faced Joy, then twirled around, "Mrs. Lovett, even I." He pushed Mrs. Lovett up against the wall then walked her to his chair, "Because, the lives of the wicked should be- made brief, for the rest of us death will be a relief! We all deserve to die!" he held his razor at Mrs. Lovett's neck, looking as if he was going to kill her.
"And I'll never see Johanna, no I'll never hug my girl to me! Finished!" Then Sweeney began to walk around the room as if in a daze, talking to imaginary victims.
"Alright! You sir, you sir, how about a shave? Come and, visit, your good friend Sweeney! You sir, too sir, welcome to the grave- I will have vengeance, I will have salvation! Who sir? You sir? No one's in the chair, come on, come on! Sweeney's waiting- I want you bleeders, you sir, anybody? Gentlemen, now don't be shy, not one man, no nor ten men can assuage me! I will have you! And I will get him back, even as he gloats, in the meantime I'll practice on less honorable throats!" He fell down on his knees in front of Joy, without realizing it, "And my Lucy lies in ashes! And I'll never see my girl again!" He slammed his fist down on the floorboards, "But the work waits! I'm alive at last, and I'm full of joy!!!" He looked up to the sky gleefully, razors pointed upwards. Mrs. Lovett had gotten out of the barber's chair now and had been watching him.
"That's all very well, but what are we going to do about 'im?" she nodded towards the chest that contained Pirelli. Joy shifted in her seat uncomfortably, scarcely breathing from fright. Mr. Todd slowly brought down his razors.
"Hello?" Nellie said when he didn't reply. "D'you hear me?" she asked. Joy could tell she was not very happy at him for almost killing her.
"Come on." She pulled him up and mumbled something and walked him down the stairs. Joy followed quietly, hardly daring to do anything after what she had just seen.