They play on the shoreline. The dancing girl with wavy black hair and grey eyes. The boy with auburn curls and chocolate brown orbs, struggling to keep up with his sister on his chubby toddler legs. The news of Eleanor Todd being able to bear a child sent her into tears, and they immediately got to work.
When she first felt the girl stirring inside of her, she was consumed with a terror so strong she couldn't bear to wake up some days. What if I'm not a good mother? She thought to herself. But once Helena Lily emerged from the womb, that terror was gone, and replaced with a joy she didn't even dare describe.
Carrying him was easier, but not by much.
Having Sweeney to help made it somewhat better; he'd had a child, but the feeling of a tiny living person inside of you was beyond frightening for Nellie. After Tobias James was born, they decided on no more kids. She loved them to death, but the pain was astronomical.
Eleanor lays with her head on Sweeney's lap, while he strokes her cheeks.
Not a day went by that she didn't think about Toby. She saw him in the little boy, and Helena had his sense of humor and liking for storytelling. The girl knew about him, and Tobias was yet to learn. They would discover the Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Benjamin Barker one day. They would hear the legend, and that was the most frightening part. But for now, they let them do their dancing, their chasing, and he continued to caress his wife's face, and she rested her head on his lap. And maybe one day, the screams would go away, the nightmares would fade, and tales of a Demon Barber and the cannibalistic Pie Maker would be told. For this was the tale of Sweeney Todd and Eleanor Lovett, the most unthinkable duo; lovers from hell.
The End