I do not own the Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler story or characters who belongs to Yana Toboso.

I only own my OC, Gwendolyn Phantomhive

Enjoy!

The Earl's Sister

Chapter 3: A Sad Birthday

December 14, 1885

Gwendolyn slowly opened her eyes and quietly yawned before walking over to her calendar that was shaped as a small wooden house to check the date.

When the bluenette opened the day's advent calendar window and checked what was inside, she squealed in excitement and rushed out to wake up her sleeping brothers.

"Ciel! Astre!"Gwendolyn shouted excitedly. "Wake up! Wake up!"

Ciel groaned as he woke up and rubbed his tired eyes.

"What is it, Gwen?"Ciel asked.

"Look!"Gwendolyn giggled and showed three white rabbit fèves to her brothers. "It's three rabbit fèves! They were inside today's calendar window! Here! There is one for each of us!"

Gwendolyn gave Ciel and Astre their rabbit fèves.

"Oh, right."Astre laughed lightly and held his rabbit fève. "It's our birthday."

"They're so cute."Ciel remarked and smiled at his younger siblings. "Happy 10th birthday."

"Thanks."Gwendolyn responded sweetly. "Happy birthday to you too, Ciel and Astre."

After getting dressed, Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn held hands with each other as they quickly rushed down stairs to find their parents.

Both Ciel and Astre wore a buttoned soft blue long-sleeved shirt with a blue ribbon tie underneath the collar, dark blue shorts with suspenders, a pair of blue-and-white striped stockings and a pair of blue shoes.

Gwendolyn wore a blue puff-shouldered mini cardigan, which had a lacy collar and hem. Her dress was in two parts; a top that is a lighter blue than her cardigan and a whiter skirt that has a frilly hem. Her bluish grey hair was styled in two ponytails and wore short white socks with blue flats on her feet.

Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn rushed into the dining room and gasped in amazement at the sight before them.

There were beautiful decorations in the room and maids placing a 'Happy Birthday' banner beneath the chandelier and Tanaka placing colourful ornaments on a big Christmas tree that had a pile of presents underneath it.

Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn rushed over to check their presents.

"Whoa!"Ciel said in amazement. "So many presents!"

"Amazing!"Astre chuckled.

"I wonder what's inside them?"Gwendolyn complemented in delight.

"Now, now, young masters and mistress."Tanaka said as he came down the ladder. "You are not allowed to open them yet. Save the fun for the dinner party."

Then Rachel rushed into the room to hug her children as Vincent slowly followed from behind.

"Happy Birthday, my angels!"Rachel remarked joyfully.

"Thank you, mother!"Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn answered in unison.

Vincent smiled at his children before noticing the big pile of presents underneath the Christmas tree.

"Looks like you received presents from Diedrich and Chlaus."Vincent stated.

"Even from Anne and Francis."Rachel giggled.

"And though it may be presumptuous of us."Tanaka said. "The servants all prepared a little something for you as well."

"And today you don't have to study at all."Rachel remarked. "Go ahead and play all you want until dinner time."

Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn's eyes sparkled at their mother's news causing both of them to raise their hands in pure joy.

"YAY!"Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn cheered happily.

"But you mustn't risk a fever."Vincent warned with a small smirk. "So don't go overboard."

"Yes, father!"Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn answered in unison.

Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn smiled at each other.

"What do you think might be in our presents, Ciel?"Gwendolyn asked.

"I don't know, Gwen."Ciel chuckled. "But I can't wait to find out!"

"They must be new toys."Astre assumed.

Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn walked around other areas in the mansion while being greeted by the maids, servants and gardeners that worked in the area.

"Happy birthday, you two."A maid said gently.

"Wow, the three of you ten year olds today already?"An old gardener laughed lightly. "That's something worth celebrating! Congratulations!"

"Happy birthday, young masters and mistress."A servant declared with a bow. "Have a wonderful day."

Gwendolyn sniffed the air and smelt a sweet warm aroma coming from the kitchen.

"There's a sweet and yummy smell coming from here, Ciel and Astre."Gwendolyn stated.

Astre gives Gwendolyn a smug smile.

"You always think of something sweet, Gwen."Astre commented.

"I bet they're baking a cake for us!"Ciel insisted. "Let's go take a look!"

Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn headed to the kitchen and peeked their heads in the area to take a look what Tanaka and the other servants were preparing.

"Not one step closer, you two!"Nelly warned. "You'll have to wait until dinner time to find out what cake it is!"

"Awww!"Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn groaned in sadness.

Tanaka and the other servants laughed lightly at the young siblings' responds.

"But we can't take that long."Gwendolyn complained.

"Can we at least take a peek?"Ciel suggested.

"A little one would be nice."Astre insisted.

"It's a cake that the three of you love."Nelly stated.

Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn looked at each other to try and guess which flavour their cake might be.

"Might be chocolate."Ciel suggested.

"Maybe it's strawberry?"Astre guessed.

"Or perhaps caramel."Gwendolyn assumed.

"We'll come and help you dress for the dinner party around 6 o'clock, alright?"Tanaka asked.

"Okay!"Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn answered in unison.

Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn headed out of the kitchen as Sebastian rushed towards them.

However, when the large black Borzoi caught sight of Astre, he started pecking his back with his nose.

"Sebastian!"Ciel scowled.

"Give me a break!"Astre complained. "It's our birthday today!"

Gwendolyn shook her head as she went over to the large black Borzoi and started gently scratching his ear.

"Hey, Sebastian."Gwendolyn greeted kindly. "Since it's our birthday today, can you stop bothering Astre for once?"

The large black Borzoi stopped bothering Astre causing Ciel and Gwendolyn to smile at him.

"Good boy, Sebastian."Gwendolyn praised.

Sebastian gives Gwendolyn a few licks on her left cheek, making the bluenette giggle before he scurried away.

"How come Sebastian is super nice to you two, but not to me?"Astre whined.

Ciel shrugged. "No idea."

For the rest of the morning, the Phantomhive triplets were spending time having fun together since they got the day off their studies.

They played chess, tag in the garden and other fun games until they head back to their room and fall asleep in their bed after becoming tired.

DING DONG!

DING DONG!

Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn woke up at hearing the grandfather clock strike at six o'clock, but nobody was coming to get them.

"We fell asleep."Gwendolyn yawned as she rubbed her eyes. "Where's Tanaka?"

"Seems he's not here yet."Ciel answered.

Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn sat in the small sofa that was behind their bed.

"Wonder what's taking him so long?"Astre asked with a bored look.

"They're probably still preparing for the huge party."Ciel remarked.

"Or adding extra layers on the cake."Gwendolyn suggested.

Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn began to wait patiently for Tanaka while staring at the grandfather clock before them.

Even after fifteen and forty-three minutes past, Tanaka still had not arrived which was starting to make the triplets worry.

Something was not right.

Ciel stood up and began approaching the door.

"Ciel, where are you going?"Gwendolyn asked.

"Something must've happened."Ciel stated with a small frown. "I'll go downstairs and check."

"I'll come too."Astre suggested and looked at Gwendolyn. "Gwen, you stay here."

"But-"Gwendolyn started.

Ciel and Astre and then left their bedroom, leaving Gwendolyn by herself.

Gwendolyn sat by herself, waiting for her brothers to return.

A few minutes later, an uneasy feeing began to grow inside the bluenette.

She hated the dark.

It always made her feel something was watching her.

When fifteen minutes passed and her brothers didn't return, Gwendolyn was becoming more scared.

"What's going on? Tanaka was supposed to get us, but he hasn't come."Gwendolyn thought. "Ciel and Astre went to check if everything is fine, but none of them has come back. I'm getting more scared. What should I do?"

Gwendolyn let out a startled gasp, when the grandfather's clock rings at seven o'clock and she hesitantly leaves her brothers' room.

The Lady of Phantomhive ran through the manor's corridors and room, calling if anybody was there.

"Mama! Papa!"Gwendolyn called out as she walked down the stairs. "Ciel! Astre! Where did you all go?"

Gwendolyn went to the library to see if her parents or her brothers.

But saw no sign of them.

"Hello! Anyone?"Gwendolyn asked. "Someone please answer!"

Again, no respond.

A wave of worry began to wash over the young bluenette's face.

The manor was dark and too quiet which made her completely uncomfortable.

It was so obvious that something wasn't right.

When Gwendolyn heard a strange sound coming from one of the rooms causing her to slowly yet nervously glance at it.

"Is someone in here?"Gwendolyn asked.

Gwendolyn slowly goes to open the door and twisted the door knob, only to find Sebastian, muzzled, inside.

WOOF! WOOF!

"Wah!"Gwendolyn shrieked and hit the ground. "Sebastian?"

Sebastian went over to Gwendolyn and growled due to the muzzle stuck on his face.

"Hey boy, who put that on you?"Gwendolyn asked.

Gwendolyn removed the muzzle from Sebastian's face.

The large black Borzoi dog gives the bluenette a lick on the face, making her lightly chuckle.

"I'm happy to see you too, boy."Gwendolyn giggled and smiled confidently. "With you here, I'm no longer scared! Let's go find Ciel and Astre!"

Gwendolyn proceeded to search for her brothers, but Sebastian suddenly grabbed her skirt to hold her back.

"Hey!"Gwendolyn snapped while blushing a bit, trying to remove her skirt from the dog's mouth. "Sebastian! What's wrong?! Why are you being like this?!"

Sebastian suddenly releases Gwendolyn, making her hit the ground.

"Ow!"Gwendolyn groaned and glared at Sebastian. "What did you do that for, boy?!"

The Lady of Phantomhive notice the large black Borzoi dog quietly whimpering before going to lick her cheek again.

Gwendolyn looks into Sebastian's black onyx eyes, now understanding the reason of his actions.

"I get it."Gwendolyn replied kindly and gently scratched Sebastian's head. "You want to lead me around, so I would not get hurt. Right, Sebby?"

Sebastian let out a bark as Gwendolyn stood up from the floor.

"Alright!"Gwendolyn responded. "You lead! I follow! Let's go!"

Gwendolyn then followed after Sebastian to let him guide her in the opposite direction of the manor.

But the reason because Sebastian prevented Gwendolyn from heading to the other side was to prevent her from seeing something horrible.

The horrible thing was that a maid laid on the ground and wasn't moving due to being shot.

It was Nelly.

And she was dead.

Sebastian runs ahead, making Gwendolyn have trouble catching up with him.

"Sebastian!"Gwendolyn shouted and stopped to catch her breath. "Hold on! I can't run as fast as you!"

Eventually, the bluenette loses sight of him, but hears the dog's barks coming from her parents' bedroom.

WOOF! WOOF!

"His in Mama and Papa's room."Gwendolyn murmured quietly and ran down the stairs. "Did you find them, boy?"

BANG!

Gwendolyn headed to her parents' room, only to freeze at the sound of a gunshot.

Overcoming her shock, the Lady of Phantomhive arrived in front of her parents' bedroom.

"Sebastian?"Gwendolyn asked.

Gwendolyn went inside her parents' room and became startled seeing Sebastian injured on the floor.

"Sebastian! What happened?"Gwendolyn demanded, going on her knees to touch the large black Borzoi's body and notice his fur wet. "Why are you all wet?"

Gwendolyn looked at her hands and paled in pure horror to find them stained in red.

It was blood.

Sebastian's blood.

He was dead.

Gwendolyn covered her mouth in shock.

"Sebastian."Gwendolyn cried in disbelief. "No…"

Gwendolyn became startled when she notice her shoes was stepping on a puddle of blood.

She didn't not only found Sebastian's, but also Vincent holding Rachel in his arms on the floor.

Her parent's corpses.

"MAMA!"Gwendolyn cried in sorrow. "PAPA!"

Gwendolyn rushed to her parents's side to try and wake them up.

"You're injured!"Gwendolyn cried. "Just hang in-"

A look of utter horror grew on the bluenette's face, when she notice neither of her parents were moving.

They were dead.

Both of them.

Tears started to develop on Gwendolyn's peacock blue eyes as a terrible revelation came in her mind.

"No! No!""Gwendolyn sobbed in heartbreak. "NO! NO!"

Horrified, the bluenette runs out of the room after seeing all the blood, frantically hurrying through the manor until she trips over another corpse.

Screaming, Gwendolyn stood up and continued to run through the mansion, only to find more and more corpses.

"HELP! SOMEBODY! HELP!"Gwendolyn yelled out in sorrow. "MAMA! PAPA! THEY'RE-"

The Lady of Phantomhive reached the dining room and found the destroyed birthday decorations for her and her brothers' birthday party, but also corpses laying on the floor.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"Gwendolyn cried in agony.

Gwendolyn dropped on her knees and let out a loud cry of agony.

Today was the birthday of Ciel, Astre and Gwendolyn.

It was supposed to be a happy and fun day.

This had to be a nightmare.

A very bad nightmare that she was finding difficulty to wake up from.

The bluenette's tearful eyes widen when she remembered her brothers.

"Ciel!"Gwendolyn gasped. "Astre!"

Gwendolyn rushed out of the dining room, trying her best to ignore the corpses she was seeing before her.

"Ciel! Astre! I'm still here!"Gwendolyn cried out. "Please, be alright!"

Clang

Clang

Gwendolyn stopped from where she stood at hearing a loud and strange sound.

Someone was there.

Clang

Clang

Gwendolyn sprinted away from where she was going and heard someone was quickly following after her.

The Lady of Phantomhive rushed to the laundry room and dived under the nearest pile of clothes, where she lay breathlessly for a moment and praying that her pursuer would be gone by the time she was forced to emerge.

Clang

Clang

Gwendolyn felt her heart beat louder and louder when she felt the door of the laundry room slowly open.

Despite her fear, she knew it couldn't end this way.

There was the other way for her to get out of this.

That was when Aunt Francis' training was beginning to take control of her.

Clang

A shadowy figure moved closer and closer to the pile of clothes, where Gwendolyn hid and…

SLASH!

In quick speed, Gwendolyn leaped up to confront her pursuer and slashed him by the chest with a sword.

The man dropped dead on the floor, dropping his knife.

Gwendolyn panted softly and glared down at her dead pursuer as a bit of blood dripped down from her sword.

He thought he could foolishly take advantage of her and ended up paying the prize.

She was not a little ordinary girl.

She was the Lady of Phantomhive.

And the future Marchioness of Midford.

"Good thing I held a sword within me."Gwendolyn murmured.

Gwendolyn headed out of the laundry room to continue her search for her brothers.

But this time she was making her footsteps very quietly, so she wouldn't get discovered.

The young bluenette hid underneath a small clothed table when she heard a couple of voices nearby.

"Where is Phantomhive's daughter?"A man questioned. "The boss wants all of the three brats."

"I know."A second man scolded. "But the little pest seems to be very difficult to find."

"That's no excuse!"the first man retorted.

Gwendolyn gripped her sword tightly as she heard the footsteps of the dangerous men ran and pass by from her hiding place.

When the coast was clear, the young lady emerged from her hiding place.

"The bad people want Ciel, Astre and me?"Gwendolyn thought. "What for?"

"Is...is someone there?!"

Gwendolyn's eyes widen in relief upon hearing one of her brother's voices.

They were still alive!

But she couldn't tell who over the sound of swords clashing.

Gwendolyn rushed to where she heard her brother's voice.

Suddenly, there was a sound of glass shattering heard not far from them causing the Phantomhive girl to start running and go investigate.

Then out of the blue, the whole manor was filled with toxic black smoke.

To her horror, the entire house was now engulfed in flames.

Fire!

The Lady of Phantomhive started running away from the flames that were threatening to devour her.

Gwendolyn started coughing and covered her mouth from the poisonous smoke as she tried to get to her brothers.

Unfortunately, her consciousness was weakening due to the smell and heat of the fire.

"Ciel."Gwendolyn murmured softly. "Astre..."

Gwendolyn then collapsed on the floor in exhaustion and fainted.

A light groan escaped from Gwendolyn's mouth as she slowly begin to regain her senses.

She felt she was laying on something soft and immediately realised it was a bed.

However, the bluenette suddenly felt someone's hand touch her forehead.

When her vision became more clearer, she notice who it was.

"Hello, little minx."Undertaker greeted. "Good to see that your waking up."

"Undertaker?"Gwendolyn asked and rose up from her bed a bit to look at the room they were in. "Wha- Wait. Where are we?"

"At the hospital."Undertaker responded. "You were in pretty bad shape, so Madam Red went to check on you while you were sleeping. You have a few burns, but you'll live."

Gwendolyn notice she was wearing a hospital dress and notice the few burn marks on her arms.

But then her thoughts went on something else.

"What about Ciel and Astre?"Gwendolyn asked. "Are they safe? Are they okay?"

The slight smile on Undertaker's face vanished at hearing the bluenette ask about her brothers.

"I regret to say your brothers are no more…Countess Phantomhive."Undertaker declared.

There were no words to describe the pain that Gwendolyn felt inside her.

Her brothers couldn't be…dead.

They were her only siblings.

Without them, she truly was alone.

Her breath became ragged and her heart beat so fast she thought it would leap out of her chest.

Vincent and Rachel Phantomhive.

Her parents.

Dead. Dead. Dead.

Ciel and Astre.

Her brothers.

Gone. Gone. Gone.

As for her?

Alone. Alone. Alone.

Tears began to stream down her face, wetting the top of her dress and reaching her chest.

"No!"Gwendolyn sobbed in sorrow. "No!"

Gwendolyn embraced the Undertaker for comfort and he hug her back.

Her family was gone and nothing was ever going to be the same again.