It was midnight in the town of London, a cloudy night. Black smoky clouds covered the sky, no stars were in sight. Beggars would be lingering at this time of night including drunken people and a few stray animals looking for scraps of food and getting into fights. A horrible smell also aroused the city, the pollution was horrible at this time of era, much to the citizens disliking but they seem to be immune to it and carrying on with their business.
Eleanor Lovett was curled up in bed with her barber enjoying his presence. They were now having their slumber after they had their 'special time' together. They weren't married but they were courting, almost two months now. Nellie couldn't believe how close her and Sweeney have gotten, it wasn't until their first week of courting they started to sleep together. It might have sound quick and most couples would have prefer to take it slowly or do it after marriage, but Sweeney never took 'no' for answer and Nellie was ready whenever he was ready to rip her dress and attack her neck and breast with kisses. Although, Sweeney wasn't the type to be affectionate especially being in public. There were times where he would give her a short glance with his eyes that showed nothing but love, other times he would kiss her hand lightly and keep her hand in his grasp just so he could feel the warmth of her skin. It gave her butterflies whenever he did these small gestures, every little thing he did almost made her smile like a love struck teenager.
Though there were times he would be in a horrible mood, he still craved for bloodlust. Judge Turpin's blood. They may be living a happy and romantic life together but Sweeney still desires to get his revenge on the judge. Nellie was still a bit upset about this but she understood his reason. He may have moved on from his wife's passing but he will never forget what Judge Turpin did to create a monster Sweeney Todd has become.
She peeked her eyes open a bit to take a glance at the sleeping barber. She gave a small smile at the sight of him with his shirt off but facing the other side and only his back showing. Her smile soon turned to a frown as she looked at his back. The back of his frame was covered with scars, obviously they were old and they seemed to be from prison. The poor thing really has been through a lot from the past 15 years. She felt the need to touch those scars as if she could easily erase them with a swish of her finger to make them disappear but she knew he wouldn't like that, they may be comfortable touching each other but she knew better not to touch his sensitive areas, she learned that from her late husband Albert.
She pushed back a stray black curl that was on Sweeney's face and placed it back in his beautiful raven mane of hair with just a white streak in the middle. She never knew where he got that piece of white hair but she guessed it was from the trauma and stress of the Hell he's been through. She was growing a few bits a white hair herself but luckily they weren't visible and were easy to hide. She was becoming an old woman, only 42 years old and her bones weren't like they used to be but she is still consider young despite the fact she is receiving small wrinkles below her eyes and bits on her hands and her veins are starting to stick out a little. It almost pained her she was growing old, sometimes she wished she could go back to being a little girl where she still had plenty of energy to run through the fields and do so much more.
Yet, from all the signs of aging, Sweeney has made it clear to Nellie that she is one of the most beautiful creatures he's laid eyes on, a bloody wonder she is and how eminently practical yet appropriate she was. Even if she wasn't proper and didn't wear the usual fancy things a woman would wear, the demon barber continues to show his love for the baker and tell her how radiant and unique she was. It made her heart melt to hear those words from him. Knowing that he could still see the beauty in her and give her so much love and comfort, it made her love him a hundred times more.
Nellie decided it was time to sleep and she could stare at her barber another time and so she closed her eyes. Drifting off to sleep and dreamed of the fantasies her and Sweeney would achieved. Ever since she was a child, she dreamed of living by the sea with the man she loved and the children she'll have with him. Staring off at the beautiful sunset that would reflect on the ocean turning it to an orange color and the sand tickling her toes along with hearing the seagulls squawking and in the afternoon her and her family will walk on the pier with the ocean below them, feeling the mixture of the heat and a cold breeze blowing by them and wearing one of the most smashing outfits to show off and maybe someday have a special dance with her husband near the sea. Dancing in the sand as the sun sets, giving it a romantic tone and the waves crashing lowly below their feet and staring at one another with so much love that they couldn't believe it was real.
Although, in Nellie's case, this was still a dream but she hopes it will come true someday.
***
"I need a refill on ale!"
"Another pie please?"
Mrs. Lovett was running back and forth giving customers their meals and refilling their drinks. It was the lunch rush so there were many people ordering and being seated. Luckily she wasn't doing this on her own, Toby was helping out. Not too far away she could see him giving a family their pies. She smiled thankfully at him, if it wasn't for his help she would of dropped to the floor burnt out. Sweeney was up in his shop giving her more supplies. She was running low on meat and now she feels grateful she'll be receiving more without having to pay, meat was quite expensive nowadays and if it wasn't for Sweeney her business would have been taken down and she would live in the streets like so many beggars do.
"Here mum!" Mrs. Lovett turned to see Toby sprinting up to her and holding up a hand with five coins, "the family was nice enough to give us a tip" the boy gleamed as he held the five copper coins in his hand as if they were made of gold. Mrs. Lovett smiled and took the coins and placed them in her pocket "how generous of them" she gleamed. Toby immediately scurried off to get a customers order, Mrs. Lovett walked around the courtyard looking to see if anyone needed her for more pies or drinks. That was until someone with big strong arms pulled her behind. At first she thought it was Sweeney trying to scare her but she heard a different voice.
"I must say madam, I admire your beauty. Quite distinctive..." she turned around and saw a man who looked to be in his late 30's, he was tall with dark blonde hair and blue eyes and had quite the handsome features, but not the type of features that stood out from Sweeney's dark beautiful, mysterious character. "I hate to burst ya bubble sir, but I'm taken" Mrs. Lovett answered confidently, slowly trying to wriggle her way out of the man's grasp on her waist. "Well I hope your lover doesn't mind sharing" he grinned at her, Mrs. Lovett was becoming very uncomfortable with this, especially since she doesn't flirt with men anymore knowing that it'll upset Sweeney.
"My lover will kill you if ya dare lay your hands on me" she spoke sharply, swatting her hand a little at the man's arm that was still wrapped tightly around her small waist. "I like to see him try" he dared to say with confidence. Mrs. Lovett tilt her head back away from him, she could feel his horrid breath fanning her neck and his clammy hand still not letting go of her hip. She hated when this happened, the only thing she hated about her work was perverted men thinking they could do whatever they please and treat her as if she was a whore. Honestly, if they want a woman's touch they could go down the corner where the brothel was, but it seems they preferred to be around Mrs. Lovett's place to find themselves a woman to place their filthy hands on. And that woman was Mrs. Lovett herself.
Suddenly she felt a strong rough hand grip onto her shoulder and pull her away from the stranger's grasp. She looked up to see Sweeney. "Forgive me for interrupting, but I would like you to not have your hands on my lady," Sweeney spoke with a fake smile and a voice that was meant to be soft and reasonable but Mrs. Lovett could feel Sweeney becoming a ticking bomb ready to explode and kill this bastard for the way he touched her.
But the stranger seemed oblivious to Sweeney's body language. "I must say you're quite the lucky one, but if you don't mind I would like to borrow her for a bit" the man said with a grin and eyed down at Mrs. Lovett's breast. She could see Todd clenching his jaw a little and grit his teeth, trying to hold in the hidden rage he was having. She knew he was ready to shed some blood, she must repair him a new clean shirt once he's finished.
"Before you do so, why don't you come up stairs in my shop and give you a free shave. My lady despises facial hair" Sweeney answered with a bit of a growl to his voice, he was ready to rip this man's throat and he wanted to do it right here right now. The blonde man hesitated for a bit and touch his chin which had a bit of stubble on it, "alright, at least it's free," he finally answered. "I'll be up in a bit, just go up the stairs and wait inside" Sweeney deepened his voice, the prey was entering his territory, he made an evil grin and as soon the man disappeared in his shop, Sweeney immediately spun Mrs. Lovett to face him.
He looked angry but Mrs. Lovett could see a hint of worry in his eyes. "You daft woman what did I say about being around other men too closely?!" He spat. "It wasn't my fault, he placed his arm around me without me noticing!" the baker retorted. Sweeney took a deep breath then looked up to face Nellie again, this time his face soften a bit, "just be careful" he whispered and then pecked her forehead and headed upstairs.
Mrs. Lovett was frozen in her spot. He really has change, before he would continue to yell at her and a few times call her a whore, but things are different now and that's all that matters.
She finally snapped out of her trance and carried on with her business while Todd did his. More supplies for the pies.
***
Hey I hoped you enjoyed this story, and yes, in case you didn't know, I deleted the story "My Handsome Demon From Hell". The reason why I did that is because some parts made me cringe and there wasn't much I could do to fix it and I hated how I changed the story from being a love story to something else, so yeah I'm starting on a new Sweenett story right here and I hope you like it! I've been thinking long and hard how I want this to be and more will be coming out!