A/N: Finally! A new chapter up! All who review will get a muffin. All who don't review will get Bubonic Plague.

Finishing chapter is a bit of an early birthday gift to myself. (My birthday is on the 1st Sunday of the new year, by the way. Gifts of muffins, plague rats, chocolate zucchini cake, cheesecake, cherry cake, any type of cake at all really and arm warmers will be greatly appreciated.) Oh, and a Happy New Year to you all!

Me no own, you no sue.

Ravings of a Fevered Mind

Chapter 3: Welcome to the Asylum

"And I'm Miss Mary." said the other girl. I stare at the two of them blankly, no very sure how to react to a situation like this. Its not very often when one is drug into an insane asylum cell by two strange girls.

"'Wot's your name?" asks the girl who had introduced herself as Miss Lucy. She has light brown hair that partially hangs down over her face and big bright blue eyes. She's very skinny (Well, who wouldn't be, from living off a very feeble diet in an asylum.) and not very tall.

I go to open my mouth, but no words come out. I look around the cell, too embarrassed and a little bit frightened to make eye contact. I shuffle my feet and look down at the dirty floor.

"Cat got your tongue?" Miss Lucy says in a mocking tone. She advances toward me and I back toward the door.

"Lucy, enough, leave the boy alone. You're scaring him." says the girl who had earlier introduced herself as Miss Mary. Her facial features are very similar to that of Lucy's, but Mary's hair is a darker brown, almost black, with blue-grey eyes. She's also a bit taller than Lucy, but not by very much.

"Well, sorry. I just wanted to know what his name is. Gawh! You're so picky about every thing and telling me 'wot to do." Lucy says, throwing up her arms.

"Lucy, please, enough now. You're gonna wake up the entire asylum. Can't you be quiet for two seconds?" Mary says back.

Lucy glares back at her. "I so can be quiet for two seconds, watch!" Lucy closes her mouth tightly and taps her foot twice. "There. That was two seconds."

Mary shakes her head. "Lucy, it's a figure of speech. Please, can't you be stupid somewhere else and maybe try to keep it down a little."

Lucy glares at her again. "Fine, maybe I shall and maybe I won't ever talk again either. I'll just keep my mouth shut and you'll never have to hear another word out of me ever again." She crosses her arms and walks over to the far corner of the cell.

Mary smiles slightly and turns toward me. "That won't last long. Ah, younger siblings. Can't live with them, can't live without them. Now, would you be so kind to tell me your name?" she says.

I look up at her and shuffle my feet some more. "My n-name is T-Tobias. Tobias Ragg; b-but everyone c-calls me Toby." I stutter out. I shift my eyes to the side in embarrassment.

Mary smiles kindly at me. Her face then turns serious and she tilts her head to the side.

"'Wot's that on your throat?" she asks.

I feel my throat with my hand and remember the scar from my failed suicide attempt. "It's n-nothing." I say, turning away from her slightly.

"Come on now, it's nothing to be ashamed about." She then rolls up the sleeves to her dress to reveal an array of scars going up and down her arms. "I've tried it numerous times, which is partly the reason I'm here now, along with the fact that after my mum's death my father didn't want Lucy or I to inherited any of his money and also that I've suffered from fevers for most of my early childhood and everyone seems to think that this will some day cause me to snap and murder everyone in the household; but that's all water under the bridge now."

I stare at her in shock and terror and begin to back toward the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I frightened you." Mary says apologetically as she rolls her sleeves back down. "I mean you no harm, really; and neither dose Lucy…most of the time. Isn't that right, darling." she says, motioning to Lucy.

"I'm not talking to you!" Lucy answers back, not turning around from where she is seated in the corner of the cell.

"Anyway," Mary continues, "We really mean you no harm. I suppose such a long time locked up has hindered are ability of proper and appropriate communication. I'm really sorry."

I stop attempting to retreat the cell and turn back toward her. I nod, accepting her apology.

She smiles at me and takes my hand. "Come, sit down for a bit." she says and leads me away from the entrance to the cell. She sits down and I sit across from her. "Not the most comfortable, but I suppose it shall do." she says, laughing at her own joke. "Now, 'wot brings you to The Asylum on Peckham Rye?"

I looked around the cell uncomfortably, not really wanting to answer her question.

"Come on now, I told you most of my story so its only polite for you to return the gesture." Mary says, leaning closer to me. "We want to here to here your story."

I look into her eyes and see the absolute sincerity in them. I realize that she can be trusted and maybe even be a friend. I swallow hard and take a deep breath.

"I- I killed a man." I finally blurt out.

I watch as a look of complete shock comes over Mary's face and Lucy even turns around with a look of shock also on her face.

"He, he killed my mum. He, he deserved to die! He deserved to burn in hell for everything he did! He killed my mum!" I sob and bury my face in my hands. I begin to cry. I can't help it. I feel the hot tears run down my face as I shake with every sob. I expect both of them to back away from me, claiming me a monster like everyone else; but Mary sits down next to me and wraps her arms around me.

"Oh, you poor thing," she says, stroking my back soothingly. "You poor thing."

I lean against her shoulder and continue to cry and she tightens her arms around me. It reminds me so much of when I would wake up from a nightmare and mum would come and try to comfort me. I take a deep breath and sit up, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"I'm really, really sorry, Toby. You don't need to say anymore." Mary says, letting go of her hold around me.

"I'm very sorry too. That must have been horrible." Lucy says, giving me a hug.

I smile at them, but something makes me want to continue my story. I guess from their kind treatment of me and the sincerity in their voices, I would feel bad if I didn't. I realize this just may help me cope. This is only the second time in my entire life I've been treated with real sympathy.

"I-its all right. I want to continue." I say.

I tell them everything. I tell them about the pies, Mr. Todd and mum. I even go to tell them about the horror known as the parish workhouse and working for Pirelli. They tell me about how after there own mother died when they were rather young, their father wanted rid of them, so they couldn't inherit his mass fortune. Mary tells me about her bouts of illness and how her own father would lock her in the cellar so he wouldn't have to hear her cries and how he would beat Lucy almost to death and of her own suicide attempts. His plan to send them both to an asylum came as a last resort. Lucy sits rather quietly, the most quiet I've seen her since we meet. I guess the though of her past plagues her too much to want to remember. I don't blame her. I know what its like to be treated like an animal. We talk for a long, time, how long I don't know; maybe a few hours, when I realize feeble a ray of light coming from the lone window in the cell.

"Oh, wow. Its morning already." Mary says, looking at the window. She turns to me. "You better be going before Mr. Watson or Dr. Fogg realize that your gone."

"I guess so. That might be a good idea." I say with a sigh.

"Well, it was wonderful talking to you. Nice to know we have friends in the asylum." Mary says.

"Good bye." I say. I turn toward the cell door, when I'm tackled from behind.

"Please come back soon!" Lucy says, giving me a bear hug.

"I…will…" I say, gasping for breath.

"Lucy, I think you are inhibiting his ability to breath." Mary says.

"Huh?" Lucy replies.

"You're suffocating him." Mary replies back dryly.

"Oh, sorry…" Lucy says, letting go of me and blushing.

"That's alright," I say trying to catch my breath., "I really must need to get going though, if I ever want to you again." I clearly know what kind of damage Mr. Watson could inflict if he found out I had gotten out of my cell. They wish me good bye. I carefully slide the door to the cell open and sneak back to my own cell.