Mercy upon my Soul (Sweeney Todd)

A Game

"Why on earth a rich girl? And why for heaven's sake now? What were you even thinking?" she exclaimed, her hands resting on her hips. He wasn't that surprised, knowing she wouldn't want to have a woman around him - a competitor... Keeping an uninterested expression he folded his arms in front of his chest. "Will you take her then?" was all he asked in return, not caring to answer her questions or calm her, although he saw her heated up, red cheeks and the curls that went around her head messier than usual.
His disinterest annoyed her and she raised an eyebrow "what if I don't?". She could see something was up with that woman and she was determined to find out, no matter how long it would take her. Sweeney was annoyed by her anyway. "Let me put it that way: I'm playing a game", he smirked, making her believe that Tondeleya would be killed painfully for his own pleasure. He wasn't too sure himself if that wouldn't be a better solution, but there was always time for that.
Her eyes brightened as she got the hint "oh, I understand. Well then, of course" she smiled, although the thought of another eating mouth in the bakery seemed to be quite a burden.
"Fine", he nodded, turning on the heel, getting upstairs with his new assistant, who he had no clue what to do with.
"What... actually happens with those... people?" she asked hesitantly, remembering that the corpses were sliding downstairs to a place she didn't have the bravery to make out. "Why would you ask that?", he stated calmly, knowing he'd have to answer that question, but he thought much later. "There are two possibilities. One: You're intending to go to the police... In which case I'd have to kill you." he turned to her, finding her eyes in fear again. Such a pleasant fear, he could almost feel it like burning fire in his throat, like a good gun would taste. "Two: You're my assistant and quite eager to learn", he added, seeing her face flinch in disgust. Angered by that he turned away and the feeling of gin in his throat was gone, just the icy wind blowing through the still opened door. "Close it!" he hissed annoyed and propped himself into the barber chair, still not sure what he should do with her. But the feeling of fear... It was almost as good as the feeling of revenge. Perhaps it would be good keeping her for that one particular reason. Rules would be a great idea to get to that, she'd have to respect him. "You're sick" whispered a little voice inside of his head and he knew - damnit he knew that Benjamin Barker would never hurt anyone. "But I'm Todd" he replied, not noticing that he was speaking out loud enough for her to hear a murmur. "Excuse me?", she asked, not sure if that was meant for her as she saw the glassy eyes that saw something entirely different from the shattered mirror. "You're to call me Mr. Todd or Sir", he snapped out of his mind and ushered her closer. "Whenever a customer comes, you're going to be polite and courtesy and keep them entertained, is that understood?" he asked and she nodded quickly, feeling like she was scolded by her home teacher again, so many years ago. "You can start by sweeping the floor", he commanded, so he could watch her work as something told him she had never worked for herself.
Surprisingly he didn't take long till he fell asleep in his own chair, somehow calmed by the constant noise of the broom on the ground.
He woke up long after midnight, the bright shining moon partly hidden behind dark clouds. Looking around he couldn't spot her and slowly got up, stretching his back and his neck. "Damnit" he muttered under his breath as it hurt more than he expected. Making his way to the bedroom in the darkness he found her in his bed, sleeping silently and peacefully. Slowly he strode forward, guessing she'd scream if she woke up and saw him in front of the bed like a demon. He knew pretty well what kind of effect he had on most people and often he decided to use it for his own advantage. However this time he only looked at her and allowed her to sleep... In his bed. What a strange thought. But she'd already slept there and it didn't matter if he wanted to kill her anyway. Carefully he sat down at the edge of the bed, looking at the moon that was disappearing entirely behind the cloud.
With a sigh he started to polish his razor before he realized he'd have to find a way to deal with her in his bed. Something in him didn't want to throw her out or wake her up. But neither did he want to go back to the chair, his neck winced alone at the thought. Shrugging he took off his belt and laid down next to her since she didn't use much space anyway. Her black curls were spread around her head like the wings of an angel but one in particular tickled his shoulder. More tenderly than he thought he could be he removed it and watched her sigh in response. How long had it been since he'd slept next to a woman? He had no clue and all of a sudden he felt sad not angry like he usually did. At least for tonight she'd live. Although he would never admit it, he missed the touch of a woman, a special woman but he knew he could never see her again.
Tired of thinking about this whole issue he shut his eyes and tried to force his mind to stay still. But there was something else that crept into his mind: He didn't just miss her touch, he seemed to need it. What Tondeleya had told him was probably the truth. He had grabbed her and pulled her to bed. The thought of betraying his precious Lucy, his angel, made him pull at his own hair in an attempt to relieve the mental pain but of course it didn't work. Not at all, no matter how tight he clutched his fingers together. He missed Lucy and this bloody one next to him was no replacement. In no way even though it felt somewhat similar. Perhaps because he hadn't touched a woman in such a long time. Prison was different... Different in every possible way and he didn't miss it one bit. "I've escaped one hellpit, I'll survive another" he told himself and removed his hands from his hair and rest them next to his body. Finding his hand touching hers, he restrained himself but as he noticed she didn't wake up he relaxed and after a while he fell in a deep dreamless slumber.

Unlike him, her dreams were partly filled with demons that hunted her down and the guilt for sleeping in his bed wouldn't go away, unconsciously or not. But did she have a choice? He had fallen asleep and the time passed while he didn't seem to wake up. Tiredness overcame her and she sunk down on his bed, hoping he wouldn't kill her for using it again. The other demon she dreamt of was her husband who found her in her sleep, accusing her of killing him, taking his soul and deserving to burn in hell. Sweat blotted on her forehead and she moved around, squeezing his hand in fear but quickly letting go as if she had burnt herself. Sleeping with someone in the same bed had never occurred to her. Her husband had his own room and she was glad about it, he only bothered her when he wanted her to be with child. A heir was all he wanted from her by now and no matter what she did, she couldn't help him. The thought of him gone soothed her sleep a bit and she continued sleeping with no noise or movement, almost like a corpse.

In the morning she rouse and noticed he was next to her. Blushing she looked at him and back at herself, trying to remember whether something inappropriate happened but she couldn't. Carefully she climbed out of bed so he wouldn't find her lazy when he woke up. After refreshing herself as well as possible she made her way downstairs to her new landlady, Mrs Lovett. No cheery 'good morning' greeted her like it would if she were Mr Todd. Instead she received a tray with his breakfast to bring upstairs and she was relieved to have something that might brighten his mood and lessen his anger towards her. What were his plans? Would he open his demonic shop again? And if he did, was she to help take care of corpses? She felt like vomiting alone at the thought but bravely distracted herself and looked around as she stood on the stairs. The cold morning air refreshed her and made her think clearer. This man was dangerous, no question and yes he wouldn't hesitate to kill her but for some reason he hadn't done that yet. And if he tried to do anything to her she'd have to overcome her fear and try to kill him first. "You've done it before" she told herself but knew this man was another match, a killer who knew exactly what he was doing, she couldn't surprise him. Well she'd go down fighting if necessary. If the police found her, her life would be worse than now. So what did she have to live for? Not much. That was the answer and with that she continued her way upstairs and placed the tray on the counter. Deciding to take a look at him she entered the bedroom, finding him stirring and waking up. It was strange to see that even he slept and that he wasn't angry when he did so. The belt with the razor rested next to the bed, he could grab it immediately if necessary. Waiting till he had rubbed his eyes and sat up she finally announced "breakfast, Mr Todd".

Her voice was slightly fragile but filled with less fear than the last time she had spoken and he examined her face to see what had caused this change. With a nod he got up and grabbed his belt. Finding himself in a conflict he took extra long to put on his shoes. She was a woman, as a gentleman he'd give her breakfast first but on the other hand she was pretty much a cabin boy and those didn't eat before the master.
With a smile he rose and instructed her to bring the tray downstairs. They'd eat at the same time and Mrs Lovett might use her to make some pies before he opened his shop. For some reason he didn't understand himself, he intended to keep the girl tired. Walking downstairs he watched how she handled the tray and although he saw she'd never carried one herself she didn't drop it.
The little bell rang as the door to the pie emporium opened and a startled Mrs Lovett jumped in shock. Not once had Mr Todd come to eat downstairs, he had always kept to himself, sitting in his shop and plotting his revenge. A blooming smile reached her face and she prepared the table for them to eat. "Oh Mr Todd, I had no idea you'd want to eat downstairs" she cheered and quickly added "isn't it a lovely morning?". Indeed it wasn't raining but foggy and cloudy. Good enough to call it lovely when she was going to spend more time with him. Mumbling something in agreement he sat down and started to pick on his plate as he didn't feel hungry anyway. Prison had taught him to live with much less than he had thought a human could take. Hesitantly Tondeleya sat down across from him and bravely started to eat what she suspected to be some kind of pies but she could tell they were meat free. "You can teach her about the cellar." he told the baker who turned pale at the thought but before she could open her mouth and reply he added "I'll take care of her, don't worry. She won't run away". He glanced at his considered victim and saw her gulping, knowing he made both uncomfortable but he felt right with it.

~

Okay thank y'all so much for being patient with me and I want you to know that I read all of your comments and really appreciate them. It's just hard to actually write even when I've had an idea for an eternity. I could promise to write more often now but I don't want to disappoint you when I just don't manage. Anyway the point of this rant is: THANK YOU to all who are still around even though I haven't published in a long long time!