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Perchance to Dream (COMPLETE)	By : Khaleesi-Of-Dragons Category: S through Z > Sweeney Todd (Movie Only) > Sweeney Todd (Movie Only) Views: 1304 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Sweeney Todd, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. Any and all songs used belong to their respective owners.

Chapter List
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Benjamin wasn't sure what to think when he first heard his little sister's cries echoing through the house, didn't know whether to bury himself further under his blanket in the hopes of drowning out the shrill noise or go and check on her since it's quite obvious that her wet nurse wasn't going to quiet her down. After a few more moments of the ceaseless wailing, the teenage kicks back his thin blanket and pads down the hall to the room his sister shares with the nurse. The room would have been pitch black if the window hadn't been wide open to allow moonlight to stream inside. Benjamin didn't notice that at first, to concerned with how pale and cold Lettie was as he held her in his arms.
His little sister went silent the moment she was properly held, staring up at her brother with big brown eyes that looked much like his own. Indeed, his sister was practically a mirror image and that thought had Benjamin smiling a little. She never went quiet so quickly when their father or the nurse held her, only with Benjamin did that little miracle happen. "What's wrong, Lettie," he inquires, not expecting the baby to answer him. Lettie gives him a toothless grin in return, bringing one of her tiny hands up to tap his chin. Benjamin's smile widens a fraction until he notices the opened window. "What's this then?"
He moves carefully through the nursery, trying not to step on the small amount of toys their father had carved while he wasn't busy. Snow had was still falling from the evening before, accumulating on the sill, the fine white powder making the footprints obvious. It made Benjamin afraid to look down, unconsciously moving one of his hands to cover his sister's eyes even though he knew it would be impossible for her to see the horrific sight below on the pavement. Suzanne, a quiet maid with pretty eyes, was lying in the cold stone below, staining the pure white snow a bright red crimson. The sight of the dead maid was enough to have tears stinging the teen's eyes, but beside her, with his arms wrapped tightly around Suzanne, was his own father. Benjamin squeezes his eyes closed, quickly shutting the window and backing away until his back was pressed flat against the wall on the opposite side of the room.
"Mother," he calls out, the panic and loud tone of his voice making his little sister squirm in his arms and her bottom lip begin to quiver. "Mother, please!" Johanna Barker came running into the nursery, her dark curls as wild as her bright blue eyes.
"What do you think you're doing," she hisses," you'll have the whole street up with that yelling! And you've got your sister worked up..." She trailed off into silence when she saw how terrified Benjamin looked, how one of his hands was curled protectively around the baby and the other was stretched out with a finger pointing towards the closed window. "What is it, Ben?"
"F-father," he manages to croak out," Suzanne..." It was obvious what had happened, all of the house's residents, with the exception of Lettie, knew that Benjamin's father was sleeping with the maid. They all knew how melancholic he'd become since Lettie was born alive while her twin brother had been stillborn. It didn't matter that Lettie was relatively healthy for being born a month early, no, Christian had wanted another son and got a girl instead. He'd blamed Johanna for it, saying she'd made a deal with Lucifer to have a daughter.
So it only made since that he took his lover with him into death, Benjamin thought a few days later as he watched his father's coffin being lowered into the ground. He'd held Lettie during the ceremony while his great aunt comforted his mother's weeping form, he'd watched after Lettie as his mother fell sick a few weeks later, and he continued to do so after his mother passed on a few months after that. He'd refused any help from his great aunt, knowing she only wanted the money his parents had saved up. Lettie was his only real family, and he felt proud as he watched her grow quickly.
She was two when he married Lucy and three when Johanna was born, too young to remember that the new baby shared their mother's name. Lettie was full of smiles on her fourth birthday, skipping along ahead of Benjamin and Lucy with her little doll clutched in her arms. Lucy can't help the laugh that escapes while watching the girl she considered her daughter. "She's so much like you, Ben," the fair-haired beauty states with another laugh. Benjamin takes on a proud smile at that, pushing the wickerwork carriage that held their own daughter. "Lettie, don't go too far ahead!" The child turns with a large grin, her pale cheeks flushed a healthy pink as she skips back towards them. Ben didn't have time to react and Lucy had opened her mouth to scream as Lettie fell to the ground and a man nearly stepped on her. Before the oblivious man's foot could crush the child's head, another man scooped the girl up into his arms while two more sized the other.
The Barkers didn't feel much relief when they learned who Lettie's savior was. His bird-like features schooled into an expression of concern as he holds Lettie tightly against his chest and begins to walk in their direction, Benjamin leaving Lucy with the baby to meet the Judge at a halfway point. "Thank, my lord," Benjamin says, holding out his arms for his little sister only to have Turpin hold her closer to him, studying her features.
"A beautiful girl you have here, Mister Barker," Turpin drawls, gray eyes slowly meeting Benjamin's brown ones. "Children are often so filled with life that they don't see the dark things right in front of them; I believe the parents must pay closer attention to that darkness before it takes the children away much too early." Turpin looks down at Lettie again, giving her a smile that Benjamin assumes is supposed to be kind before he sets her on her feet again and takes one of her hands in his. "Do be more careful, little one. This world is a dangerous place with criminals everywhere." Lettie gasped, yanking her hand out of Turpin's much larger one before throwing herself up in her brother's arms. Ben held her tightly to his chest, watching until the Judge's head was lost in the sea of people.
"Benji," she whimpers, her eyes filled with tears.
"It's alright, Lettie," he whispers, putting a chaste kiss on her forehead as he carries her back over to Lucy and Johanna. "I've got you now."
"What do you suppose that was about," Lucy asks, watching her husband as he sets Lettie back on her feet with a protective hand on her head. "He shouldn't have said that in front of Lettie, it'll give her nightmares."
"I suppose he thinks that his new appointment to Judge means he has the right to frighten children." Benjamin shakes his head, taking control of the baby carriage again and leading the way through the crowded square with Lucy and Lettie following on beside him. Everyone who knew Benjamin Barker well also knew that he was a protective man, and he was the most protective of his children—even if one of his children is actually his baby sister.
"Oh," Lettie gasps a few moments later, the previous scene involving Turpin entirely forgotten now," Benji, look! Pretty flowers!" The four year old tugs on Lucy's hand, nearly bouncing in her excitement. "I want some pretty flowers for my birfday!" Benjamin gives a soft smile when Lettie looks up at him, her own excited smile enough to send the happiness coursing back through him.
"Well, then I suppose I ought to head to that stall this very moment and get flowers for all the beautiful young women in my company."
"You're silly, Benji."
"Am I now? I could have sworn I was perfectly normal." Lettie shakes her head, taking on a determined expression.
"Mm-mm, you're the silliest big brother ever!" She does a little jump on the word ever, nodding her head like it was all serious business they were discussing. "But I'll love you anyway." Lucy and Ben share happy smiles, Lucy picking little Johanna up while Ben and Lettie move closer to the florist's stall to buy some flowers. When they come back, Lettie has a single bright yellow daisy while Benjamin is holding a small bouquet of white flowers. "Look, sissy, I gots a lellow flower!"
"Yes," Lucy nods," it's almost as pretty as you are."
"What do you think," Benjamin asks, handing off all but one of the flowers to Lucy, holding the one he still had in front of Johanna's face for her to see. "Do you think she'll like these?"
"I think Lettie's right, you are a silly man."
"Mm, but you love all the same for it."
"All the more."
"And I love you, my beautiful wife." Lettie looked beyond the couple, wondering why two men were approaching so quickly, though never getting the chance to point them out before they'd clubbed Benjamin over the head and began to drag him away. Lucy seemed to fall into a state of shock, unable to move from her spot even as Lettie tried to run after her brother.
"No," the child shrieked as a strong arm snaked around her waist to hold her back. "No! No, Benji!"
"You're quite safe now, little one," comes the familiar drawling voice of the Judge, his free hand resting on one of Lucy's shoulders even as Lettie continued to struggle to get away. "You are no longer bound to such a disgusting criminal."
*~::~*::~*FIFTEEN YEARS LATER*~::~*::~*
It felt weird being back in London after all these years, the city seeming to be tainted or maybe it was himself? He wasn't sure anymore, just that he needed his family in order to feel sane again and not like a prisoner covered in grime and sea water. It was hard to picture his girls, but he still carried a vague memory of their smiling faces right before he was dragged away—Lucy looking torn in what to do and his little Lettie trying to chase after him and letting out such desperate cries for him to be rescued. He could barely picture Johanna, just that her eyes were beginning to lighten into her mother's shade of blue. He winces, still remembering the sudden, throbbing pain in his head and the sensation of being pulled rather quickly with nowhere to go. It was all like a bad dream to him now, sometimes making him wonder if it was real at all. He shakes the depressing thoughts away, focusing on making his way back to his home where, hopefully, his family will be waiting for him.
As he was turning another corner, his thoughts speeding through his mind, he ran right into someone else, the smaller person falling to the street with a grunt of surprise. He glowers down at the person, taking in the torn silk skirts of her dress and its plunging neckline. The woman glowers up at Todd without fear of being struck, her dark hair pulled back out of her face with one lock of it laying over her shoulder, her dark eyes fixed on him. "Don't just stand there," she says sternly," help me up!"
"And why should I bother to help someone in your profession," he sneers. He tried to walk past her only to have the doxy grab onto one of his legs, though he had no problems dragging her a few feet before she dug the heels of her shoes in to bring him to a halt.
"What kind of man are you? You can't knock a woman down and keep walking!"
"And you're a woman, are you?" He glares down at her, noticing for the first time how young she is. She can't be much older than nineteen or twenty years old, no sores to mark her as homeless or sick. "How long have you been selling your body?"
"It's not like I do it because I have a choice." Todd clenches his jaw, acknowledging that the only way to get his foot back is to help the woman back on her feet. He grabs one of her arms and jerks her into a standing position, his rough grip sure to leave dark bruises on her impossibly pale skin. "My master sells me to the higher up for a better price." He felt a pang of sadness in his chest, knowing he'd kill any man that did something like this to one of his girls—it doesn't make him feel any better when he realizes that Lettie would be close to this woman in age by now and not the four year old he left behind. "Be careful, mister, there's a lot of dangerous people lurking around at night, though I don't s'pose anyone would pick a fight with you." She gives him a wink before walking off.
"Be careful." He's not entirely sure what made him say that, why his old protective nature was suddenly rearing its head. Perhaps it's because he's back on familiar streets again or the thoughts of his family? Either way, it makes the woman look back at him in surprise, her dark eyes widening as though she had never had those words spoken to her before.
"Don't be silly, mister, no one's really safe in this world." Silly, that simple word bring back a memory of a little girl who he'd raised. 'You're silly, Benji.' 'Am I now? I could have sworn I was perfectly normal.' 'Mm-mm, you're the silliest big brother ever, but I'll love you anyway.' The woman was already gone by the time he jerked out of the memory, the sound of her heels still echoing even if he couldn't see her anymore. Shaking his head, Todd begins to walk once more, sure that his mind was playing tricks on him. No, his Lettie wouldn't allow anyone to degrade her like that woman has. His Lettie is safe above Mrs. Lovett's meat shop with Lucy and Johanna. But he still couldn't shake the nagging feeling that nothing was really like he remembered.
And the woman walking down the street was having a hard time convincing herself that her brother was dead.
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Perchance to Dream (COMPLETE)