Splintered Dreams

by: Sweeneygirl58

I do not own anything. But I do own a Sweeney Todd DVD, and a Sweeney Todd Necklace!!

There was only one thing that she was sure of, and that was that she loved him. His penetrating gaze always made her heart skip a beat. His voice sent shivers down her spine, and she always blushed at his smirk, even though it was rare when he did that. Mrs. Lovett sighed and placed her now empty glass of gin down. She sat there on her small couch, thinking of him and only him. How was it possible for him to steal her heart and not notice how much she truly cared for him? Mrs. Lovett's small frame was engulfed in the fire's blaze that the fireplace let out. Her red hair casting a glow, as if it were her hair that illuminated the room. How did he do it? How did he invade her thoughts both day and night? Mrs. Lovett sighed once more, then got up and headed to her bedroom. She had to get up early in the morning to open the shop and attend to her customers, and sitting and thinking about the love of her life wasn't going to help her in anyway. Once she layed on her bedsheets, she closed her eyes and tried to think of the sea. She imagined the waves crashing into the shore, and the sound of sea gulls coming from all directions. She could almost smell the scent of the salty sea water. Thumping sounds then sent her dream crashing down. Eleanor narrowed her eyes at the sound of Mr. Todd's constant pacing. It wasn't possible that he made his prescence known, even when she refused to fantasize about him. Eleanor grunted and shifted to a more comfortable position. It wasn't long before Mr. Todd's footsteps turned into an eerie yet peaceful sound and lulled her to sleep. Her dreams consisting of the man above her.

Eleanor woke up at the sound of pots and pans. In a flash, she was dressed and ready for a day's work. Upon reaching the kitchen, she saw Toby organizing dishes. Mrs. Lovett raised an eyebrow and went up to the small child.

"Wotcha' doin' love? Yer up earlier than usual.", she asked curiously.

Toby turned to her direction, smiled then turned back to organizing the plates. "I wos just re-arrangin' the kitchn', mum. I thought it needed a little cleanin' up, and decided to 'elp you by doin' so. Hows it look?", he asked turning to her direction once more.

"Spick and Spam, dear", she answered, giving him a reassuring smile. "Now", she continued,"Can you go to the market for me? I forgot to buy Ale' and some' flour, and I can't run a bussiness without those, now can I?" The brown haired boy grinned, and nodded, "Sure mum, no problem jus' let me finish up 'ere, and I'll be on my way." Mrs. Lovett shook her head. "I'll finish up 'ere, darling. You go and fetch those things I asked for".

"Okay mum, be back in a jiffy then", with that said Toby exited the store. Ringing the bell that hung attop the entrance door. "Such a nice lad, 'e is", Mrs Lovett said to herself. She then went on to finishing up what Toby had started, which wasn't much, since he had started very early. Once done with that, Mrs. Lovett consisted on fixing a breakfast for her dear ol' friend Mr. Todd. She prepared him a nice, suitable meal, then headed up the stairs that led to his barber shop. Tray in hand, Eleanor managed to open the door and let herself in. Once entering the room, the sight that greeted her wasn't too surprising. Mr. Todd was looking out the window, his back facing her. No doubt trying to find a way to kill Judge Turpin, or having thoughts on how he was going to tortue him. Mrs. Lovett trembled and shook her head slightly at the thougth of that. That bloody, old judge was the only thing that consisted on the man's head. Sooner or later he was going to have to stop his brooding.

"Brought you breakfast, love.", Mrs. Lovett said, breaking the silence. She heard an all too familiar grunt and with that, set the tray down on a nearby table.

" 'Ope you have a good day, dear', I 'ave to get back downstairs. Any'ow, I'll bring yer lunch later, alright?." Mrs. Lovett saw Mr. Todd slightly nod, and she wondered if he even heard a word that came out of her mouth.

She turned and made her way back downstairs, feeling a little hurt inside. He usually said something to her, even a silent 'yes', but it seemed today he wasn't in his talkative mood. Then again, when was he ever in a mood to talk? Mrs. Lovett's thoughts continued until she reached her home. She entered the building and realized that Toby still hadn't arrived from the store yet. Well, she couldn't start baking without flour, and that meant nothing to keep her busy. The kitchen was organized; nothing to do there. Eleanor tapped her index finger on a nearby table, pondering what she could do to kill some time. She usually had something to do. Today, on the other hand, she was out of ideas. Eleanor Lovett decided to enter the living room, hoping that something there was sure to spite her interest. It was nice and clean. The shelves dusted and paintings re-arranged. A picture of Toby flashed in her mind. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. That boy was always helping her. Cleaning and helping out with the customers. He was like the son she never got to have. Scanning the room once again, her eyes set upon the piano that was against the wall. It was neatly polished, with a book of music neatly resting on the top, as well as a wooden metrenome. She hadn't touched the piano in what seemed like centuries. Ever since her Albert had passed, playing was simply out of the question. She made her way to the grand instrument, and fingered the keys with her gloved hands."I wonder if I can still play", Eleanor Lovett asked herself. She opened the music book and flipped a couple of pages, finally choosing one." Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Quasi una fantasia", she read silently. Mrs. Lovett sat on the small bench and stretched her fingers. The tempo wasn't fast, so she was sure it wouldn't take long to catch up. She started, and realized she couldn't stop but wonder at the piece of music that was being emited by the piano. The music was enchanting, and seemed peaceful. It was hard to believe that her hands, which chopped people into little pieces and baked them into pies(a deed she wasn't proud of)could create such an alluring, admirable sound.

Unfortunetely, the song then came to an end, and Mrs. Lovett decided that it was time to stop. She stood up from the little bench and turned around. She then gasped in fright as she saw a figure by the doorway. "Goodness', love, ya sure' gave me a fright there.", she panted, placing a pale, gloved hand to her heart. Toby was standing by the doorway, his mouth formed an 'O', and his eyes held wonder and awe.

"You alright, dove?", Mrs. Lovett asked once her heart had stopped pounding. Toby quickly closed his mouth, but the look of shock was still in his eyes. "Yes, mum, and I'm sorry about the fright I gave ya': mum I didn't know you could play the piano!", he asked. Mrs. Lovett beamed at him.

"O' course I can play, why on earth' would I have one if' I didn't know how to?", Mrs. Lovett said.

Toby glanced at the grand instrument, then back at Mrs. Lovett. "I thought it was for decoration, mum,", he said, finding the floor mighty interesting.

Mrs. Lovett gave an unladylike snort, then responded," That sounds silly." It was then that she realized Toby was drenched from head to toe, drops of water falling from his hair and clothes with very small thud sounds. "Toby! Yer' soakin' wet! What the bloody 'ell 'appened!", she said rushing toward him. Toby smiled sheepishly at her. "Sorry mum, I was caught in the rain on my way back 'ere.", he then frowned, "Sorry about the floor, mum. I didn't mean to soak it." Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Forget about the bloody floor, son. I'm worried bout' you, you could catch a fever. Go on and get out of those wet things. I'll get the bathtub ready for ya'.", she said, giving him a slight push on his back. He obliged and headed straight to his bedroom, leaving a trail of water behind him. Once he was out of sight, Mrs. Lovett went toward the living room window and gasped at the sight of the heavy rain. She hadn't realized the loud rain pounding on her window. She scolded herself for making Toby go out in the rain, then went to fetch a fairly big pot and filled it with water. She then turned the fireplace on, and heated the water. Once the water was pleasurably warm, she grabbed the pot as catiously as she could and made her way to the bathroom, filling the tub that was there with the heated water. "Toby, water's ready, love., Eleanor said after the bathtub was ready. Toby entered the room, in a robe. His hair still wet. Eleanor smiled. "I'll leave you alone, dear. Take as long as you need, kay?", she finished and he nodded. She then exited the room and headed to the entrance door. With the weather like this, Eleanor was sure there were bound to be no customers. So she put up a sign on the door, it read 'Closed.'

He stared at everything, yet at the same time he stared at nothing. He had already grown used to Benjamin Barker's memories plaguing him, but that did not mean he was grateful for them. Everytime he closed his eyes, he saw the face of his beautiful wife and child. Lucy and Johanna, smiling at him. No. Not him, they were smiling at the man he used to be. When he got lost into those memories, he often forgot that they were both gone. Sometimes, when he was so caught up in one memory, he would actually believe the memory was real. But that soon ended when he opened his eyes. The cold truth hitting him like a ton of bricks. The rage that came after was also understandable, and expected. He would feel so angry, that he would picture the judge and what he would look like when he had his way with him just to calm himself. His hands soaked with the ols man's blood. Mr. Todd stood by his window, staring at the city of London below him, wearing a mask that revealed no emotion whatsoever. He watched different people walk around without a care in the world. Others, he saw, seemed late for something, and rushed from street to street. He glared at husband's that walked with their families, smiling and laughing. He felt jealousy pricking at his every cell. It seemed life went on with or without him. No one knew the troubles Sweenry had in his mind. He sighed and decided to walk away from the insulting glass.

He saw a tray of food on the side of the dresser. He raised a perfect black eyebrow at the peculiar food that sat at the edge. After a few seconds, he remembered. Mrs. Lovett had brought it up fot him. He sighed as he pictured the face of his landlady. Always tending to his needs. In a strange way, he was glad to have her company, despite her constant chatter. She was the only one that knew him as Benjamin Barker, and made sure he had a roof to stay under and food to eat. He felt a tang of guilt as he realized how cold he had been to her. She acted like she didn't mind, but he knew that deep down it hurt her how he usually snapped at her. He shook his head, shaking the dreadful feeling away. It wasn't like he wanted to be this way, those traumatizing years in Australia had given him side affects. Then again, who wouldn't have side affects after that 'vacation'? A loud sound emmited outside struck his train of thought. He took a quick glance outside and saw violent drops of water descend from the pitch, black sky of London. The weather seemed to match his attitude. Mr. Todd decided that a meal wouldn't hurt and made his way to the tray.