Fifteen years after being sentenced to life in prison, Benjamin Barker escaped from the disgusting cell he had lived in for so long and hopped a cargo ship back to England with the help of a young sailor boy named Anthony. It was still amazing to him that he was actually rid of that place. After so many years in the dark and dingy conditions; he was free. He was finally going home.
In the process of returning, Benjamin decided the use of an alias would be best until his arrival in London. After all, he had no way of knowing who would remember him, who wouldn't, and who would even care. Confined to his own thoughts for so long, Benjamin came up with a plan of escape and along with his plan came an alias. Benjamin Barker became Sweeney Todd; a brooding and dangerous man who mainly kept to himself. Though that wasn't the only reason he became Sweeney Todd. The only other reason he changed his name was because he simply didn't feel like old Ben Barker anymore; he felt like he had died and been reborn into someone else entirely, something else.
As the boat slowly pulled into the London harbor, Sweeney Todd took in the sight of the surrounding city, in worse condition than it ever had been to his recollection. The city he had once known was no longer standing. The city was grey and bleak, the sky was dark, black smog emitted from every corner. It looked as if a huge disaster had struck London and in its place was the shadow and ruins of the once great city. As if everyone had just ceased living and things from another universe had taken over. That's how foreign London looked to the barber now. It was almost as if the city took on the appearance of how he felt.
Sweeney Todd took his leave from the boat after thanking Anthony and set off into the city, his small knapsack on his back. He looked around until he saw a store, an open store... The only open store. The sign that hung above the store read "Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pie Shop". He entered the shop wearily and spotted a woman standing behind the counter making what was, supposedly, meat pies.
The woman looked familiar, yet completely new to him. Her hair was messily kept back in an attempt to tame her wild jumble of thick red curls. If not for the dark bags under her eyes and the lack of light in the room, he would've guessed she was in her mid thirties. Her skin was pale, almost as if it were tinged grey with the city, but her eyes were dark like the bags under them, telling a story of struggle, pain, and torture. Sweeney Todd approached the counter as his eyes slowly took in the surrounding shop. The woman merely glanced at him at first, as nothing in her demeanor changed. The second she fully realized that there really was someone else in the shop with her, she snapped her head up and gazed at him with wide-eyes. Her expression was similar to a doe's when caught unawares. She nearly gasped with joy.
"A customer."
"'ello." Sweeney Todd greated quietly. He never was one for conversation.
"Good'ay, sir, and how are you this evenin'?" She asked, smiling slightly. Smiling did wonders for her face. It made her seem younger, more alive and less of a corpse.
"Alright, I s'pose." He answered in a low grumble.
"I'm sorry if I startled you, love, I jus' 'aven't seen a customer 'ere in weeks. Maybe even longer than that... Glad not to be alone for once." She smiled and laughed it off. Sweeney Todd turned to leave, not really sure as to what else he could do. Should he ask her why London looked the way it did? Should he ask her for directions? But to where? He didn't know where he was going from here. He had only ever thought about finding Lucy and Johanna. Lucy... But before he could finish a thought, the woman behind the counter stopped him.
"Wait, where's your rush, where's your 'urry? You gave me such a fright I thought you was a ghost."
She came out from behind the counter and took him by the shoulders. Although she had the look of a peasant, her skin was surprisingly clean despite the pale greyness of it. Her hands were as cold as ice, not at all matching the boiling temperature of the room. Her clothes were ragged and worn, not at all fitting for someone who could possibly have the potential to be very beautiful. Sweeney could not decide whether she was beautiful of not. Attractive, yes, but her beauty was undecided. At the same time, the clothes suited her somehow. He wouldn't deny that they exposed her assets nicely. He would have to be a blind man not to notice just how buxom and bosomy she was.
