London outside the safety of Jacob's lodgings felt cold and blank, a mere wilt of its former self. No sellers called from street corners, children no longer ran the streets with sticks and hoops in hand- the place was eerily dormant for the capital of a country that was practically ruling the world.

All brought down by this one mysterious killer.

Wrapped up in the warmth of your shawl, you paced the cobbles just a little way down the street, noticing how the place felt like a ghost down in the broad, white daylight. The place felt like it was trapped in a nightmare state with the veiled sun and the freezing temperatures, like even the city itself could not begin to overcome the horrors that had swept it.

Your (eye colour) eyes searched the distained and rather unkempt exteriors of the houses that lined the lifeless street, frozen fingertips clasping to hold your shawl together.

You knew not to go far - you didn't feel like you knew the city anymore so it would be unwise to wander off and find yourself face to face with the Ripper or another horror of that kind.

So, drawing in a cold breath that plumed like hollow dragon's fire, you turned on your heels and headed back towards Jacob's home, walking meekly along the cobbles in a passive mannerism.

Certain shifting shapes from the corner of your eyes made you dart your head upwards, catching sight of someone moving in the shadows of the alleyway just ahead of you. A fearful lump wedged in your throat, as you could see this person was moving back to try and keep themselves firmly concealed in the shadows.

"Who's there?" You barked, trying not to let the fear shake your tone, "show yourself."

Your command surprisingly went abided, and a young woman dressed in a revealing red dress stepped out of the alleyway. She didn't look quaint or timid; she looked quite positively like she had ran straight from Lambeth Asylum.

Her heavily made up face and imposing red lips where all stained and smudged, like she had ran and ran through God knows what to be there. She was without shoes, you noticed, as she paced very skittishly and cautiously forwards, her dirtied and frozen looking feet skimming the cobbles, probably red raw and blistered.

"I did see you, yeah?" She asked in a high pitched voice, her octaves croaking a little like she was hoarse.

"What?" You asked, wondering whether you should just run from the woman as fast as you could. God knows what she was up to.

"I saw you- comin' outta Mr Frye's house." She added, talking quickly with wide and empty looking eyes, as if she had been drained of everything but an animalistic terror- like she was about to be preyed upon.

Suddenly she leapt forwards and grasped your arm with her bony and almost skeletal fingers, her hands frozen upon your skin.

"Let me go-" you cried, trying to wrench yourself free.

"He's coming girl, you and Jacob are no exception- he's coming!" She rambled, shaking her head monotonously with juddering movements. "He knows what you're doing he sees everything! Leave the house, leave the house until he's gone!" She was screeched now, nothing but clear white fear struggling to emanate off the girl's raw throat.

Alarmed and frankly sick with fear, you managed to pull free and ran back in the direction of the house, the girl still crying loudly after you, shouting about the Ripper and how he knows everything. Suddenly even Jacob's so far protective hold of you didn't seem enough to keep you safe- and that was something new.

Never in your entire history of knowing Jacob had you ever felt the way you did at that moment. When you were young he was this god like figure, not to be reckoned with- and you were his little sweetheart of whom he was always looking out for- no matter what; nothing could hurt you, or so it felt.

But for the first time your perception had truly changed; clearly the Ripper was something much much bigger, larger than life on the scale of which he controlled and brought terror down on the city- and you got the sense Jacob was rather hiding something about this from you.

Making your way up the stairway, you forced your way into the apartment and slammed the door shut behind you- exhaling out heavily as Jacob turned from the desk at the other end of the room and looked at you.

"What? What is it?" He asked, looking alarmed.

You didn't want to frighten him or make him even more on edge- if you did that; then your one reassurance factor was gone. You needed Jacob to be strong to rely on him. Instead, you took a deep breath and decided there was another way you could get the pair of you out of the house.

"I was thinking... I would actually like to go and see the Orphanage today, maybe ask around." You started with a wry smile, "just to take my mind off all of this violent nonsense. It could be good for you too, Jacob." You advised, watching the concern on his face slowly thaw, and it made you sigh out in relief.

"Yes, I suppose it would be nice to focus on the things that matter to me." Jacob replied shortly after a moment, a hopeful little smile on his face as he grasped his heavy leather gunman's coat off of the hanger, and headed with you out onto the street.

Primarily, your eyes searched for any signs of the girl who had psychotically attacked you before; but it appeared she had long since scuttled back into the shadows.

The pair of you walked the ghostly streets, the most rolling between the houses like figures ambling passively over the cobbles- no sense of direction or course. However you did feel a little safer with Jacob at your side; but the constant reminder of the Ripper's strength all but exceeded Jacob it seemed.

----

"Here we are," Jacob announced, stopping in front of a rather slanted looking structure, the roof arching inwards as if to suggest the place was sinking into the foundations it was built on.

"This can't be it," you defended, "there's meant to be an orphanage." You were more than just confused, this just looked like some old decrepit house.

The sound of guttural coughing and the slosh of water from behind you forced both you and Jacob to turn around, seeing an Old Woman stumbling about with a now empty wash bucket.

"There was once," she started, her hooded and wrinkled, dull eyes casting over the structure before her glance fell back to you and Jacob. "Berkeley and Fayre- the place closed down some years ago."

"Where did all the children go?" You asked, as Jacob bowed his head and began to pace passively away while you conversed with the crooked old woman.

"Different places... Some found homes, others to the work house."

Your heart shattered at the prospect of your young daughter, alone and scared- forced away from you and into a workhouse; it made your heart crumble.

You just needed to know for sure where she might've gone, where she could be...

"Do you know where they transferred all of the records of the children to?" You asked, raising your brow inquisitively, Jacob looking at you with a desperate look.

"(name)..." He sighed softly, catching your arm as you wrenched it free. The old woman eyed you with a narrow glance, clearly sussing your desperation.

"Probably the main office on the other side of Whitechapel- just past the East side of the station." She informed, "but it would be closed by the time you tried to get there today- best try tomorrow, young lady." The old woman advised, before she mysteriously disappeared back inside of her home, bucket in hand.

-----

All the way back to the house, as darkness began to fall, you said little to Jacob- your mind constantly consumed by the thought of your daughter, slaving her life away in a workhouse.

"First light tomorrow; we're going to that office." You confirmed, as you went to turn into the stairwell that led to Jacob's apartment door, but you felt his hand press to your chest as he pushed you back and out of the way.

"Did you close the door before we left?" He asked, as you nodded meekly, before your gaze went to the door and noted that it was wide open.

The two of you were stood frozen; and it was that moment you realised you weren't alone. You could practically feel the course of tense energy flowing out of that door, and it triggered every system of fear inside you.

Moments later, the sound of heavy boots pacing on the wood made you shudder, and a dark, leery chuckle that followed made you hide behind Jacob like a frightened child.

"Hello Jacob," came a voice from behind the door, as of yet you could not see it's occupant, "well; aren't you going to come in?"

~~~~