Note: Wow I am on a roll with this story, I'm normally never this fast with updates! Okay, I won't take up too much of your time, I only want to say thank you to everyone who has read so far and please keep reading. I'm hoping to turn this into something that Vastra/Jenny shippers will really love as I personally often find myself disappointed when reading fanfictions for this pairing (no offense intended to anyone whose work I may have read, I'm just very particular when it comes to my favourite pairings). Reviews would be very much appreciated if you think there's anything I could improve/ add in to make this even better (or if you just want to make me smile and tell me something you think I've done well).

Love always

Shadow of a Black Rose xxx

Warning: This chapter contains a fairly vivid description of a corpse and some violence / violent imagery - please don't read if you think this could distress you in any way!

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It had been yet another full day of hard work in the cold for Jenny and still she was being passed by as though she were a ghost more often than not. She was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with her. In the last seven years of her employment there had not been a single day when Jenny had sold such a small amount of matches but for some reason the past few months had proved to be a hard time in her profession. Maybe she was getting too old for her job. She remembered her father saying when she started out that she would have no problem selling matches as the upper classes always took pity on pretty little poor girls like her, but she wasn't so little any more. Maybe people were only interested in helping the poor when it was a child they believed they were helping.

As she once again attempted and failed to make a sale Jenny sighed and decided that it was about time for her to give up. She had kept working for at least three hours longer than she usually would by that point in some vain hope that business might pick up if she carried on, but as the prospects of making a sale became less and less likely and the skies grew darker it occurred to her that perhaps continuing to work hadn't been such a good idea. Jenny didn't live in the safest of places (unfortunately safety, as well as everything else in London, seemed to be given only to those who could afford it) and she still had to walk a fair way to reach her home. She knew that any light that remained would be long gone by the time she did get home and the thought of what might happen in the absence of light was enough to send a faint shiver down her spine.

As Jenny began to make her way home she tried to keep her mind from the horrible images that seemed to spring up with the prospect of all of everything that could happen to her but she just couldn't seem to rid herself of the fears. She knew girls who had gone missing because they were out after dark. She had even had a friend named Lucy who had been running late after work one day and had been set upon as she returned home. Jenny shuddered at the memory; she had been the one who had found Lucy's body the next morning, thrown carelessly into the gutter outside some of the poorest excuses for houses in all of London. She could still see the image clearly in her mind. Lucy had been a pretty girl but you wouldn't have guessed it at the sight of her corpse. She had been covered in bruises and cuts, her pretty blonde curls were knotted and matted with blood and it seemed that one of her eyes had gone missing altogether (Jenny thought she had seen a stray dog chewing on it a few feet from the body but she had convinced herself that the dog had just found a mouse or a twig as opposed to ripping Lucy's eye from her skull). The body had been bent at an odd angle with the arms tied behind the torso and the legs splayed out as though Lucy had been running when she dropped dead. The most horrifying part for Jenny though was the state of her friend's legs. Lucy's skirt had been hitched up around her hips and her stockings torn to shreds, removing any modesty she may have had left in death. There were deep gashes along her thighs that Jenny thought looked as though a rabid animal may have inflicted on her but the blood clotted high up between Lucy's legs suggested something else entirely...

Everything was quiet and the sky was beginning to turn from dark grey to a murky black. Jenny couldn't keep thinking like this. Yes there were dangers on these streets but that didn't mean that she would end up like Lucy. For one thing she was a lot tougher than pretty and angelic little Lucy ever had been, and besides, she had fought with the boys from next door so often as a child that she was sure she could at least hold her own if she had to defend herself. She shook her head as she walked and clutched her box of matches and her purse closer to her chest. Working late really wasn't the smartest idea she'd ever had. It was all very well and good telling herself that she could fight back if anything happened but could she really do it?

Something crashed loudly behind her and Jenny immediately spun around in terror, not entirely sure what she expected to see. A mangy looking cat scampered from behind a pile of rubbish and crossed to the other side of the road where it took shelter in a doorway. She had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself, noticing her heart seemed to be pounding at a mile a minute. In her mind she was berating herself continuously 'come on Jenny, you need to calm down'. She had worked herself up too much. She had been thinking about Lucy and now she was even scared of a poor little, half starved cat. She closed her eyes tightly trying to put everything into perspective. "You can do this" she muttered to herself.

"Do what?" Jenny felt every muscle in her body tense up as the voice echoed around the empty street. She was too afraid to open her eyes or move a single muscle. She could feel her grip tightening further on her purse and match box and she was almost trembling with fear. "I said, do what?" The voice was male, low and raspy with a slight growl to it. Jenny could feel someone behind her, a man, and he was far too close for comfort.

Warily Jenny forced herself to open her eyes. In front of her she could see nothing but the street that the cat had just run across but she could still feel the man behind her. His hot breath was on the back of her neck and the stench of smoke, alcohol and sweat exuding from him made her gag. She felt a large hand grasp her shoulder and before she knew what was happening the man had spun her around so that they were almost face to face, his own just an inch higher than hers. He was a strongly built man with dark grimy hair and a wax like complexion. Jenny noticed that behind him five other big bruisers were stood in a semi-circle as though they had been placed on a stage for the opening night of a show. It would have been comical if Jenny had not been frightened for her own safety. She was visibly shaking and she knew that the men could see it. The one who had turned her around was smirking venomously at her and she could almost see the blood lust in his eyes.

"So, what's a pretty little thing like you doin' out in the dark all alone miss?" he drawled, taking the liberty of running a grubby finger along her jaw line to hook under her chin. He forced her face up so that he was staring straight into her eyes and the shock of it made her drop her matches, spilling them all over the ground between herself and the man who she assumed was the leader of the gang. She could hear the men around him chuckling under their breaths and she tried to pull herself up to her full height, determined that if this was the end then she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

"Jus' on my way 'ome" she answered him matter-of-factly, forcing herself to glare defiantly into his eyes that were so dark that she could barely distinguish the pupil from the iris.

"Oh, is that so?" Jenny could have sworn he was getting closer to her with every second but she didn't see how it was remotely possible. He had been close enough for her to feel his breath and smell his revolting odour before he had even turned her around, how could he get any closer without becoming a part of her?

"Yes." She heard her voice falter slightly as she tried to keep up the act of bravery, cursing herself silently for being such a coward. "I jus' finished work for the day you see an' I was on my way 'ome to 'elp my mother with the dinner"

"d'you 'ear that?" a voice asked from behind her and Jenny realised that the other men had gradually edged their way around to circle her while she had been focused on maintaining her mask of bravery. "Little missy 'ere was on 'er way 'ome to 'elp mummy with the dinner" The men chuckled again and Jenny felt heat rush up into her face. She hadn't realised how childish she had sounded until the man had repeated her words back to her.

"Oh look," said another just next to the leader, "now she's gettin' all shy. You can see it in 'er face."

"Enough!" snapped the leader and the others fell silent immediately. "You won't be goin' 'ome tonight miss... or any other night for that matter, once we've finished with you." The men were closing in now, some pulling out knives, others grabbing hold of her by her skirt and her arms. Behind her one of the men got hold of her hair and tugged it so violently that the pins holding it in place fell to the ground allowing him to roughly yank back the silky dark tresses. 'This is it' Jenny thought to herself 'goodbye life'. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the blows and violations to start but for some reason they didn't.

The street was filled with a strange noise somewhere between a howl and something unearthly that Jenny couldn't explain. The hands that had been grasping her before fell away and she collapsed down onto the floor amongst her spilled matches, like a puppet cut from her strings. She opened her eyes and looked up. The men were still crowded around her but they no longer seemed at all interested in what they had been planning to do. Each man was staring transfixed at the same point but for the life of her Jenny could not understand what had appeared to save her from her fate. She scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could just in time to catch a glimpse of something odd that had not been there a minute ago. Over the shoulder of the leader Jenny could see what looked like a large wooden box in the middle of the street, looming above herself and the men with a light on top that shone blue light over every surface surrounding it.

"What the bloody..." The leader of the group of men staggered forwards, looking at the box closely. With his body out of the way Jenny could just make out the words 'Police Box' written neatly on the front (luckily her mother had taught her basic reading skills as a child although she still wasn't very comfortable with the whole concept). When had the police begun using boxes? And how had they made it appear out of nowhere. As if the sudden appearance of the box wasn't enough, in another second a door on the front of the box opened and out came a rather awkward and funny looking man with floppy hair, a strange looking suit and a bow tie - it was far from the police uniform Jenny was accustomed to seeing.

"Ah," he said, finding himself face to face with the leader of the group, "right then, what's going on here?" Somehow as the strange man began to speak the men around Jenny seemed to come back to their senses. Jenny was just about to make a run for it as the man behind her once more got a firm grip on her hair and a few of the others grouped tighter around her. With the circle once again intact (minus the leader) Jenny's vision was cut off but she could still hear the man and the leader speaking.

"What business is it of yours" the leader grunted. Jenny could just imagine him closing in on the strange looking man, trying to intimidate him.

"Well, probably none, but then again I don't like the look of your group of men over there. Look like they're up to no good that lot. What's with the tight group? What are you all hiding?" Jenny wanted to cry out, to make this newcomer notice her. Maybe he could help her. She opened her mouth to scream but a grubby hand forced her into silence and she felt something cold and metal pressed to the side of her head. She could guess what the object was. It was solid and hollow, like the barrel of a hand gun. She had one herself under her floorboards at home, if only she had brought it with her that day she would not be in her current situation.

"Get lost pretty boy, our business aint got nuffin' to do with you!" The leader of the group was losing his patience. It was clear in his voice that this interruption was ruining his plans and he was not happy about it.

"Oh but I think it does. Because I think I know what you're all hiding in the middle of your little group right there and I think, if you know what's good for you, you'll let her go." Jenny's eyes widened in shock. How did the man know she was there? She hadn't had a chance to make a sound and she was certain that he wouldn't be able to see her in the middle of the huddle of bodies.

"An' what is it you're plannin' to do if we don't eh?" The leader's voice was getting lower with every word and Jenny had to strain to hear what he was saying. "You 'ardly look like a threat to us pretty boy, you've not even got a weapon to 'and."

"That's true... well, partly true anyway. I don't believe in violence, never have, too many people get hurt. But that doesn't mean I can't protect that young girl you've all decided to handle like a piece of meat - honestly, didn't your mothers ever teach you how to treat a lady?" The leader of the group chuckled but didn't reply. Jenny began to worry. She wished she could see what was happening. Had the man been hurt? Had he been killed? She tried to pull herself free from her attackers to see but it was no use, there were too many of them holding her tightly in place. The conversation had stopped and Jenny thought it had become too quiet. Even the men holding her captive seemed confused, they were looking around apprehensively as though they expected something to happen.

Before any of them knew what was happening a sharp hiss echoed around the street and a shadow to the right of the group moved. Jenny couldn't see what was happening but her attackers did. Some gripped her tighter, others gave up on holding her altogether and backed off a little. She only wished she could see what they were seeing, and in an instant her wish was granted. With no warning one of the men to her right fell to the floor screaming and clutching his throat. The sounds coming from him were like nothing Jenny had ever heard before and she watched in horror and slight gratitude as he writhed in agony at her feet. By this point most of the men had released their grips on her and she attempted to jump over the man at her feet but was pulled back by the strong hand still clutching her hair. It seemed that one of the attackers still wasn't ready to give up. As the others began to back away, their eyes fixed on their companion still howling on the floor, the man behind Jenny removed his hand from her hair, clamping his arm tightly around her throat and pressing the gun harder against her skull. It was strange, she had almost forgotten about the weapon he was holding until that point but as he put more pressure on it she felt as though there would be a permanent dent in her head from the strength with which he pressed the metal against her.

"Show yourself!" He yelled, his voice shaking. "Show yourself or I'll shoot her!" He was afraid but somehow Jenny no longer felt any fear. She wasn't alone anymore and for some reason the strange man and his invisible accomplice gave her the strength to do something she would never have dared do before. Without thinking about what she was doing Jenny threw her head back hard, hearing a loud crack as her skull made contact with her captor's nose and he howled in pain, loosening his grip on her for long enough to allow her to embed her elbow under his ribs and force him to release her from his hold.

After that Jenny wasn't sure what happened exactly. Everything became a blur. She vaguely recalled the strange man in the suit grabbing hold of her hand and pulling her down a side street. He checked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt and then disappeared back into the main street. She thought she could remember hearing screaming, a lot of screaming, and at one point she could remember peering around the corner only to find that her attackers were all lying dead in the street, a tall figure in a black cloak that coved their entire body stood over them with the strange man only a few feet away. That was when Jenny's memories stopped. Everything after that was blank until she found herself sat in an extremely expensive looking room with a roaring fire by her side and the strange man sat opposite her.