"So, what is it that we're lookin' for again ma'am" Jenny still couldn't seem to get her head around what exactly her first mission was. Vastra had been trying to explain it to her ever since they had left the house but the idea just wasn't sinking in. The Silurian was beginning to wonder if this had been the right case to start her off with after all or if perhaps she would have been better off taking Jenny on a more mundane mission to begin with.

"A girl who is not a girl." She sighed, a little exasperated, and Jenny scowled slightly. She couldn't help it if she didn't understand. She'd assumed Vastra would make her first mission something simple, like a thief or a fraudster, not an alien! Pulling Jenny around a shadowed corner where she hoped no one would notice them Vastra lowered her hood so that she could stand face to face with the girl. "Darling you must try to understand what we are doing or you are more likely to get yourself killed. I received a call from Scotland Yard a few days ago informing me that there had been some strange deaths around this area of London. The Victims seemed to have had their hearts frozen, literally turned to ice. There is only one species I know of which is capable of such an act - they have thousand of names but my people simply knew them as ice queens. The race is entirely female and, under normal circumstances, they are a peaceful people. That is why I believe this one to be young. The young of the race often cannot control themselves when placed in an environment which frightens them. They will kill any seeming threat. That is why I chose not to bring the swords, we can't have this child seeing us as threats to her safety or we shall join those she has already killed."

"Right," Jenny muttered, still trying to understand what the purpose of this case was, "so, we're lookin' for a girl who freezes the 'earts of people who are a threat to 'er. An' what do we do when we find 'er? Surely we don't kill 'er?" The maid had no qualms about killing on the whole any more. Of course, she would prefer to simply incapacitate her targets, but if killing was necessary then it was necessary. In this case, however, Jenny wasn't so sure. A child, alien or not, was still a child. It couldn't help if it was scared, it was only trying to protect itself, and wasn't that exactly what Vastra did? Protect people?

"It will depend, my love." Vastra seemed distracted, keeping tabs on everything around her while still trying to explain the case to Jenny yet again. "I have reason to believe that this child may not have found herself here by accident. All of the bodies that have been discovered were found in the grounds of a church not far from here. Someone must be using the child for something, and when they are done with the people she kills they drop the bodies off and start again." There was a cracking noise somewhere in the dark and Vastra immediately pulled her hood up, leaning closer to Jenny and whispering, "if we find the girl alone we must try to reason with her, help her if we can. If we find her with whoever it is that brought her here... well, we shall have to see when the time comes."

As the last words passed her lips Vastra spun to face the source of the noise and warily she edged further into the darkness, careful to tread as quietly as she could. Jenny was quick to follow, light on her feet and agile as a cat just as Vastra had taught her. The Silurian took her time creeping through the shadows. Although she could see perfectly well she did not want to risk overlooking whatever had caused the noise in haste and so she allowed her gaze to wonder over every corner and hidden spot with such precision that nothing could have escaped her notice. After a few seconds she stopped suddenly and Jenny walked straight into her, having to hold onto her mistress' cloak so as not to tumble back onto the grubby floor of the street.

"Ma'am?" she whispered but Vastra just held up a hand to silence her. Jenny watched as the Silurian's tongue flicked out and she realised that she was sensing. Peering over the woman's shoulder Jenny could just about make out a figure curled in a small ball and hidden in a boarded up doorway. Was it the child? Had they found her? Jenny went to take a step forwards but Vastra held her back, one hand gripping her arm tightly to stop her getting any closer.

"She may not be alone" Vastra hissed and instinctively she pulled Jenny behind her so as to protect her. She knew Jenny had been trained well enough to look after herself but not knowing who or what they would be facing put Vastra on edge. It meant that she didn't know how skilled they were. Perhaps she wasn't as ready to put Jenny in harm's way as she had thought. "Stay here." Being careful to move as slowly as possible Vastra moved towards the tiny form of the child curled in the doorway. As she moved the girl sensed her presence. A tiny blonde head peered up at Vastra's cloaked figure and she immediately raised her hands to protect herself, fearing the figure whose face she couldn't see.

"Wait!" Jenny's voice broke the silence of the alley and the little girl's eyes snapped to her. She regarded the maid for a moment, her hands still shielding her from Vastra. Jenny stepped closer and held her hands up to show she meant no harm. "Easy there little miss, we won't 'urt you." The child didn't seem to understand. Her eyes flicked between the two women uncertainly. She appeared torn over whether to trust them or not. On the one hand there was the mysterious and frankly rather terrifying cloaked figure that she had been ready to kill on first sight, but on the other there was the oddly dressed woman who spoke so calmly. The second one didn't seem so scary.

Vastra's attention had turned to Jenny. What was she doing? She didn't know anything about this girl, who she was or how to communicate with her safely. Why was she not following instructions and keeping well back? The Silurian hissed softly in the back of her throat and Jenny placed a reassuring hand on her arm to calm her. "Trust me" she whispered. She turned to the little girl still curled in the doorway and crouched down so that she was level with her and could look directly into her eyes. She noticed that the child's eyes were definitely not human. They were a lighter blue than Vastra's and something moved in the colour, almost like snowflakes or flower petals being blown around in the wind. "I'm gonna ask Vastra 'ere to remover 'er 'ood, okay sweet'eart? Just so you can see 'er proper like. It'll be easier to trust 'er if you can see 'er won't it?" The little girl nodded. "Now, I don't want you to be scared, she won't 'urt you. She just looks a bit different to you an' me, okay?" The child considered it for a moment, then nodded her head again.

Jenny looked up at Vastra. She knew the woman wouldn't be happy about exposing herself. Anyone could walk past at any minute and see what she was, but Jenny was sure it was the only way to calm the little girl's nerves. Reluctantly the Silurian slid her hood from her head and the little girl's eyes widened. Jenny managed to take hold of her little hands before she could raise them in self defence again and she gently lifted the child into her arms and stood up.

"'ey now, I told you she wouldn't 'urt you, lets 'ave less o' that." The little girl didn't struggle but she didn't seem entirely sure she was comfortable in Jenny's arms.

"W...what is she?" It was the first time the child had spoken and Jenny noticed how easily she seemed to speak the language. She wondered if perhaps the girl had spoken it before she reached earth or if she had learned it once she was brought there. Even so, with more important questions to ask the maid pushed that one to the back of her mind.

"Vastra's a Silurian, there aren't many o' 'er lot around right now but a long time ago they used to be the ones that ran this planet." The girl looked confused and Jenny giggled "she's a big, 'armless lizard." She chose to leave out the part about the Silurian only being harmless if you weren't causing trouble. The child was scared enough without having to hear that. Vastra hissed in dissatisfaction at Jenny's explanation but the maid ignored her. She knew Vastra only allowed her to call her a lizard in jest but it seemed to be the easiest way to make the child understand. "What's your name little miss?"

"Arabella," A voice seeped through the darkness and with it came a figure. "Her name is Arabella." A man strode out from the shadowed entrance of the boarded up door and Vastra immediately tensed herself ready for attack. He laughed to himself as he regarded her and Vastra growled warningly. "Oh do calm yourself woman, I won't hurt you."

"A likely story, but I would like to stay prepared if it is all the same to you."

At the sight of the man the child stiffened in Jenny's arms and all of a sudden her uncertainty about the maid holding her evaporated. Little hands clung onto Jenny's shoulders and Arabella closed her eyes tightly as though pretending he wasn't there. She was whispering something to herself over and over in a language Jenny didn't know and the maid automatically tightened her grip on the girl's tiny little body, trying to reassure her that they wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Vastra was eyeing the man suspiciously. He seemed like any other Victorian gentlemen but something was off about him. He didn't blink. His eyes stared directly into the Silurian's but not once was there a sign of movement in them. Something was wrong and both Jenny and Vastra knew it.

"Who are you?" Vastra hissed, "and why have you brought this child here? What is it you want from her?"

"This planet." The Silurian's head tilted to the side in interest as she waited for a further explanation. A child was not a weapon or a means of causing harm as far as she was concerned but she was intrigued as to how this gentlemen could see otherwise. "This world is small and worthless. It is too warm and it is wasted. I will show its people what the cold can do and I will make them mine as I do." He turned his attention to the child and whispered her name. A whimper broke free from her little lips and she buried her head in Jenny's neck. The words she had been whispering stopped and before Vastra had time to turn and see what was happening the air around her was filled with a deafening shriek.

"Vastra!" As she turned she encountered Jenny with a look of horror in her eyes as the girl in her arms appeared to start fitting. Arabella's little limbs twitched and shook and her eyes rolled back into her head. Her hands were still clinging to Jenny's shoulders and the maid winced in pain as little nails dug in through her catsuit and into her flesh.

"Jenny put her down."

"What?!" The maid's eyes burned into Vastra like flame and she clung even tighter to the little body she was holding. "You 'ave got to be jokin'! I aint leavin' 'er to fit on the dirty streets with 'im right there tryin' to 'arm 'er!" Vastra was a little taken aback by Jenny's sudden urge to protect the child. She knew that Jenny cared for other beings and wanted to keep them safe where possible but somehow she had never expected such ferocity from the girl. A part of her wished that her darling little human wasn't so kind hearted. Vastra knew what was happening to the child and she was certain Jenny couldn't protect her from it.

"Jenny, I mean it you must put the child down."

"I won't."

"You will die if you do not!" The Silurian's voice broke in desperation and Jenny froze, just staring at her. What did she mean she would die? Arabella was clearly ill but how would that affect Jenny? "He has done this on purpose. Jenny - the child's race, the reason they are peaceful is because their deaths are so easily brought about. Their names cannot be spoken three times by the same person. It is their curse. He said her name three times on purpose he knew it would make this happen. He is trying to freeze the earth." Vastra was becoming more and more desperate. She could see that Arabella was nearing her end. The child's fingers had turned blue and the colour had drained from her cheeks. "Please my love, please you must put her down. When she dies her body will be ripped apart. It will place an eternal winter over the earth and if you do not put her down you will be caught at the heart of it. You will be turned to ice." There were tears in Vastra's eyes and as Jenny saw them glistening in the moonlight it tugged at something in her heart. She had thought that Silurian's couldn't cry. Vastra had told her that they couldn't. So how were there tears in her eyes?

Jenny looked down at Arabella in her arms. She didn't want to leave a child so young to die alone. Although it was clear that any sense the little girl had had of what was happening around her was gone Jenny felt as though somewhere deep in her mind Arabella knew that she was there holding her. She wanted the poor little thing to feel loved as her life was taken from her, not alone.

"Jenny please!"