The child held on tightly as Basil swam with the current. He found a small edge with calm water and lifted the child up to it so she could pull him up. The two rested for a little bit in a hollowed out step in the sewers. The little mouse was the first to speak.
"Thanks for saving me." Her voice was now that of a young girl who was scared. Basil looked at her a little curiously.
"You're welcome. What's your name, young lady?" He was curious as to what was happening to this young child. 'She was a babe barely an hour ago, now she's a young child… does she even know her name, or anything about herself?'
The little mouse looked up hesitantly. She was covered in darkness from her clothing but also from the sewer sludge. "My name is Aurora Dawn Martin. I'm two years old, but… I guess that's no longer the case, is it?"
"No, apparently not. I'd say you were five or six now, wouldn't you?" Basil looked the girl over tiredly and skeptically. Despite having been a human just a few hours ago, and a baby at that, she was definitely a young mouse of about five or six years. His day was just getting weirder and weirder, and it didn't help that he couldn't leave this little mouse alone either. It was an innocent child that needed help, and who was he to deny her that help, but the question was; how was he going to help her?
"Maybe so…mister… What's your name?"
In all the excitement, he had forgotten to introduce himself to the poor girl. "Oh, terribly sorry, I'm Basil Baker, but more commonly known as Basil of Baker Street." The little girl sneezed as the detective realized that this was all a bit much for a human baby to deal with, even if she had been turned into a six year old mouse. "Come with me, I'll take you to Baker Street and we can start figuring out what to do with you."
It took them a while to get to Baker Street, but they made it, nevertheless. Mrs. Judson, the landlady of the little flat that Basil lived in, was quite surprised to see him stop in with a little child resting in his arms. She let them in, and helped them to dry off while also getting them some cheese crumpets. Aurora helped out quickly after she was done eating. She cleaned off the table and helped Mrs. Judson with the dishes. She was a fast learner, and quite intelligent, for someone who had been a two year old just a few hours earlier.
Mrs. Judson then retired to bed after leaving the two in the living room. Basil sat in his chair with his head in his hands, trying to piece together what he had just seen happen and what on earth this young lady was. Aurora sat down in front of Basil and looked at him with her large mismatched eyes. "What's wrong Mr. Baker?"
Basil lifted his head, grimacing. No one really called him that, as he had gotten the name from his mother. They usually just called him Basil. "Nothing really, Miss Martin, I'm just… confused…"
"Me too. I'm a mouse." She started biting her lip. "I have a tail that does things too." She looked at her tail with a slight glare, as though it was evil.
"Stop that. It'll start bleeding. A proper lady doesn't bite her lips."
Aurora stuck her tongue out at Basil and retorted back, "And what does a boy know about what proper ladies do and don't do?"
"A bit more than the girl who was only a two year old human a few hours ago." Basil smirked. Aurora grimaced.
Aurora pursed her lips and frowned. "I got us out of there, didn't I? Who was that rat anyway?"
Basil gave an amused look to the young girl once more. "You have quite a bit of courage for a young girl… that or you really don't know what fear is."
"Let's go with the second one. Now who was that guy, and why was he so mean?" Aurora's voice got into an annoyed and semi squeaky form as she tried to understand everything that was happening.
Basil smirked and ruffled the girl's hair. "You really want to know?"
"Yes."
"Very well, but afterwards you are to go to sleep, how does that sound?"
"Deal!" Aurora smiled.
"His name is Professor James Rattigan, and he was once a mathematics professor…" As Basil explained how Rattigan worked, lost his mind, and how Basil had started facing off against him, Aurora's wide eyes kept getting wider and wider before they started to drop as sleep over took the young mouse. Aurora fell asleep on the carpet floor in front of the fire listening to Basil's grand adventures and explanations on how he had first encountered the great villain known as Professor Rattigan. The smile on her face was that of a child who had heard one of the best bed time stories in the world. Basil couldn't help but smile back. This young lady was something else.
