A/N: Hello all sorry for the delayed update I hope my new little one shot helped you through it but here is the update please have a pie and enjoy!
Chapter 6.
Seconds ran into minutes, minutes turned into days and for all Nellie knew days could have been months, she spent so much time in the cold isolation cell pacing she didn't know how much time passed anymore. She paced the cold stone floor watching her bare and dirty feet as she tried to ignore the ache of the burns on her temples and the numb feeling in her arm from her strait jacket. A smile graced her lips as she memory of her punching one of the men holding her down to be placed into the restraints for what dr. Johnson called "treatment" and how she'd nearly made it out of the building before she was caught.
Her mind was brought back to the dark cell by the sound of the heavy iron door opening down the hall and foot steps echoing off the walls.
"Keep your 'ands off the bars and don't place 'em inside she's one of our more violent inmates."
The guard's voice slowly drew closer as she came to a stop, her back to the bars so her matted curls acted like a curtain as the foot steps came to a stop outside the cell fallowed by a quick jingle of keys making her lift her head to show she heard.
"You've got someone to see you."
She slowly nodded but didn't move.
"Most violent inmate? She seems rather docile."
The cold drawling voice made her shiver but her blood boiled as she glanced at the men outside the bars, standing there watching her like she were a caged exotic animal making her skin crawl was the judge Turpin.
There's a great deal of drugs in 'er system by now, just 'ad a treatment she did..."
"Leave, if we need something I will tell you."
The guard jumped but nodded before he quickly left leaving Nellie to suffer hearing the bastard responsible for sending Benjamin away talk to her like a wild exotic animal he wanted.
"Eleanor Walker wasn't it, I'm more then sure after nearly 3 weeks in here you are ready to leave, it can be arranged all you need to do is come with me and,"
He trailed off as his eyes roamed over her body, she could feel him mentally undressing her as she turned to face him, his eyes found her face again and a sick smile crossed his face.
"And be my sex slave."
Nellie sneered at him and walked up to the bars.
"What about the one you already 'ave, my slut of a sister?"
She growled but her words seemed to hardly affect him as his smile widened believing he was reeling her in.
"Your pretty sister would be more than welcoming to you if you behave yourself."
She looked up at him with mock innocents and wide eyes making him believe she was ready to agree and leave with him to be his little toy. She narrowed her eyes and with a growl spat right in his face making him stagger back.
"Don't make me laugh you bloody arsehole! I'd rather waist away in 'ere then set foot outside with you!"
Turpin wiped his face and peered at her his face red as he stepped up to the bars glaring down his hooked nose at her.
"Then so be it."
Without another word he left in a rage but it made Nellie realize that if she didn't find a way out she was going to be trapped like all the raving and screeching lunatics in the asylum. She bit her lip as foot steps drew closer again making her look up to see Dr. Johnson unlocking the door shaking his head.
"My dear you've been a very bad girl, that kind gentleman was going to take you away from here, so many others would have taken him up on his offer too."
He shook his head again undoing her strait jacket as she looked up at him her eyes blank and her face held no glimmer of understanding making him blink at her in shock as his hands gripped her shoulders.
"My word it's finally happened, we've finally broken that will of yours, it's taken three weeks and a much higher dosage of electric shock therapy than the others but it's finally worked!"
Nellie just looked at him mentally waiting for the right moment to act. Dr. Johnson smiled and brought his hands up to cup her face, seeing her chance Nellie bit down hard enough on his hand she tasted blood before grabbing the keys on his belt and using most of her strength to shove the doctor to the side listening to him hit the wall with a heavy thud. She ran from the cell slamming and locking the door behind her before running as fast as her bare feet would carry her through the abandoned halls, it must have been night since that was the only time there was such low staff. Before she knew it she found herself out in the now snow covered streets of London, the cold bit at her skin and the wind whipped at her matted hair but she ignored it all as she ran down the familiar street to take her home.
When the house was in sight she stopped running and looked at it. All the windows were dark and there wasn't a soul in sight, bitting her lip she hurried to the kitchen window she had left unlocked when she went to see Ben before he was taken, she placed her hand on the wood and pushed relived when it opened for her. She scrambled through careful not to make a sound as she hurried from the kitchen and up the stairs to her room dodging floor boards she knew squeaked while she opened the door. Everything in the room was exactly how she'd left it, the only difference was that the bed had been made. She all but ran to the bed and dropped to her knees reaching for the bag she'd hid weeks ago, after a few seconds of reaching she grabbed it and pulled it over her shoulders before moving to the closet and taking out a larger bag stuffing a few of her old dresses inside along with a handful of other essentials before grabbing her boots and a coat pulling them on.
After a quick look over she rushed back to the kitchen not bothering to be quite, figuring if Lucy was home she'd have been found by now, as she grabbed the half loaf of bread and a bottle of gin stuffing them into the bag before carefully dropping it out the window fallowing it not a moment later. Once the bags were over her shoulders she walked as quickly as she could through the abandoned streets and as far away from the street she had called home all her life as the town would allow.
She soon found herself in a more run down part of London, a glance at the street sign told her she was on Fleet Street, she slowed her pace holding the straps of her bags closer to her chest as her eyes darted from shadow to shadow. Her eyes caught a glimpse of a sign in the window of a shop reading "Help/owner wanted." Nellie looked over the sign then to the shop front reading the faded letters spelling out "Mrs. Lovett's meat pie emporium" the cold was suddenly to much as she seen a figure inside lighting oil lamps to light the shop and she found herself moving to the door.
Before she knock how ever the door swung open and a women with greying brown hair, green eyes hid behind round glasses and a kind but warn face smiled sweetly at her.
"Hello dearie, awful cold and late to be out for a walk isn't it?"
Nellie nodded tucking a loose curl behind her ear.
"Yes ma'am, I couldn't 'elp but see your sign, 'ow much for the room?"
the women looked her over before stepping aside to let her in, Nellie stepped inside looking around the shop, off to the right a fire burned brightly from what looked like a parlor and out side the end of a set of stairs was barely visible.
"What's your name lass?"
Nellie's eyes went back to the women who was now wiping down the counter.
"Eleanor but everyone calls me Nellie."
The women nodded before looking around the shop then back to Nellie.
"Well Nellie dear the room would be 2£ a week or you could buy the whole shop, including the room above for 10£, it was me daughter's shop but she moved away to America about a year ago and me bein' alone I can't run it so I'm looking to sell it."
Her eyes were hopeful as they locked with Nellie's but Nellie was busy thinking, on one hand it would offer a chance to hide herself in plain sight, Lucy wouldn't dare step foot in this place but it was also running a risk of being found because she'd be staying in one spot. She bit her lip looking around the shop before she took the smaller bag from her shoulders, fished out the velvet purse and removed the needed notes seeing she still had a small amount left before looking at the older women holding up the notes.
"I'll buy the shop ma'am."
the women looked a little surprised but smiled taking the notes and producing two keys from her pocket handing them over.
"The first key, the little one, opens the room above and the second opens this shop, mind you the lock sticks so you have to push on the door while you turn the key other wise you'll break it right in the lock. Bake house is down stairs but there a smaller oven behind the counter,"
She walked to the entrance of the parlor and motioned Nellie over, Nellie fallowed her through the parlor.
"I'll leave you the furniture, that hall leads up stairs, this hall leads to the main bedroom on the left, a second room on the right and a bathroom at the end."
As she spoke the women opened the first door to revile a bedroom and at the end of the hall was a door leading into a bathroom.
"Upstairs there is a bedroom and bathroom along with an open area, we used to rent it out before my daughter took over. Any questions dear?"
"Nellie but her lip and shook her head. After some arranging Nellie found herself sitting on a cot in the above shop room, with the near empty bottle of gin and mostly eaten loaf of bread at the floor, for the night until the women bellow finished moving out her daughter's things the fallowing morning after which she would be the shops new owner. Nellie got to her feet and made her way to the large bay window looking out over the roof tops her eyes focusing on the smallest ones of her old neighborhood making her sigh.
"There's nothin' there for me now, as of this night Eleanor Gabrielle Walker died in Bedlum."
Nellie whispered to herself as she turned her back to the window and went back to the set up cot and laid down after taking a last drink of the gin watching the ceiling until she finally fell asleep. In the morning Nellie made her way down stairs and found the older women gone with all her daughter's things and a note on the counter explaining there was still ingredients for pies through out the shop and a few bits of food in the kitchen around the corner. Nellie read the note over before pulling on an apron hanging on a rusty nail in the wall and tying it around her waist before gathering what she remembered she needed from her grandmother's meat pie recipe, as she began working away she sampled the pastry making sure it was fine before she filled the crusts and baked them. After half the day had gone by Nellie was feeling beat down after failing to make any of the pies taste good enough to eat until the last batch she finally seemed to get the finicky recipe down.
She repeated the recipe again so she had a couple dozen pies made in case of customers the next day smiling to herself before taking off the apron and going through the parlor to the bathroom drawing herself a hot bath which she sank into up to her nose with a content sigh feeling at ease for the first time since watching Ben be forced into the ship with murders and criminals of all sorts. She let out a whine as she sat up looking at her reflection in the water as it rippled when a tear hit the surface, it was going to be hard but she hoped she could learn to get by and keep a small flicker of hope alive that she would see Ben again, that he would come back.