Chapter 1

The dismal streets were unquestionably the same as they had been fifteen years ago, yet London seemed a foreign place to him now. Dark buildings and shops stood bleakly silhouetted against the night sky, blotting out the few stars that were bright enough to shine through the veil of clouds covering the city. He walked swiftly through the gloomy alleys and the shadowy, winding pathways that he had not forgotten after all these years, the pounding of his own anxious heart a low, dull thudding in his ears.

He thought he heard footsteps behind him. He stopped and took a quick, guarded glance over his shoulder into the dark street. Nothing there; only the deep, lingering shadows that stretched across the rough cobblestones, reaching towards him with illusory fingers of hazy black mist. He frowned and narrowed his eyes, probing the darkness warily. There was something in those shadows, something ominous and foreboding that he didn't remember ever being there before.

He continued on down the street, hoping that when the morning dawned he would be granted a new perspective of the world. It had, after all, been fifteen long years since the last time he'd seen his beloved wife, and held his sweet baby girl in his arms. He anticipated the moment that he would hold them in his arms, and then everything could be all right again.

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Nellie Lovett recognized him almost the instant he walked through her door. It took a moment for her mind to register, but she knew his face. It was a face that she had never expected to see again, a face she had both loved and loathed all at once.

Her Albert had never been the best husband. It had been utter bliss the first few months after their marriage; but soon he began to show his true colours. He stopped helping her round her shop, and his short temper and violent nature had suddenly burst into the open. He held patience for nothing and nobody, including his wife. Being the impolite, lazy, inconsiderate and simply cruel man he'd turned out to be, she had been really quite thankful when he'd passed on. As her bruises had faded, so had her memories of him, and she had moved on.

Benjamin Barker had been another matter. Always with a ready smile, a kind word on the tip of his tongue, and the most courteous man a woman could ever hope to find. Mrs. Lovett had always had a soft spot for him, which had grown considerably larger over the few years she had known him. But he had been taken, married to the love of his life, and Mrs. Lovett knew she could never have him.

But after an unusual twist of events, he'd been arrested and sentenced to life in prison. She knew it was on a false charge, it had to have been. But now, fifteen years later, somehow, he had come home.

Seeing his face again had brought all these memories flooding back, and she felt a familiar flicker of delight course through her heart as she gazed into his eyes; the first time in fifteen years. Though they were not the same eyes they had once been; none of him was.

He had a rather disconsolate air about him, overall. He was pale and sullen, now; a toughened and hardened man, very likely a result of the callous environment of the prison. She hated to think of him as a victim of the unmerciful torture that occurred in that prison. It was kept very hushed and under wraps, but everyone knew it was happening anyway. He was still civil, but didn't go out of his way to be more polite than he had to.

She pretended not to recognize him at first, and had played along while he inquired as to his old home; the empty floor above her pie shop that her neighbours so credulously thought was haunted. When she told him this, she could almost see a light flicker on in his head. Why was it empty?

Finally, there came the inevitable question that she knew had to come eventually.

"What happened to Lucy?" he asked quietly.

"So it is you, then," Mrs. Lovett said, without a hint of surprise in her voice. "Benjamin Barker, returned 'ome after all these years."

"No," he snapped, suddenly incensed. His black eyes flashed. "Not Benjamin Barker. That man is dead. It's Todd now, Sweeney Todd." He turned his face upwards to look in her eyes. "Now, tell me: What happened to my Lucy?"

Mrs. Lovett hesitated. She knew it would hurt him, and it almost broke her heart… but she told him the truth.

"Married? To who?" he asked hoarsely. Mrs. Lovett could hear the shock and pain leak through his guarded tone, and she felt a pang of guilt that she hadn't told him more slowly. But there was no going back now.

"Oh, love, ya don't know 'ow sorry I am to 'ave to tell you this... Do ya remember the man what was pursuing 'er the 'ole time you two were married?"

There was no doubt in his mind who it was. He spat the name, his voice venomous even in his own ears. "Turpin."

Well, here's the first chapter. Inspiration hit me a few days ago, but I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested. Gave it a shot anyways :) A bit short, but I thought that was a good place to cut off :P Chapter 2 already in-progress!

Next chapter will pick up a bit in pace, so don't worry. Cheers! –C.C. :)