Prologue

The fire's blaze cackled and shrieked. It bellowed and roared while men and women attempted to stop the flame's growth with buckets of water. Their efforts seemed futile, the Phantomhive's manor had a large and spacious exterior. If they couldn't control the flames that had swallowed up the outside. How could they hope to rescue the elegant and abundant interior? Still, they vigorously continued their work. The Earl Vincent Phantomhive and his lovely wife, Rachel, remained inside. Among them was likely their young son, Ciel. All members of the household staff would not give up until their master and his family was retrieved. They were Phantomhive servants after all. Anything less would not suffice.

"We need more water!" A man's gruff voice yelled. The large crowd began to hurry bringing what water they could find towards the mansion. With much haste they continued to fight the fire in hope to save their master. Suddenly another ball of flames bursts through the windows. Warning that anyone who came near would be met with the same fate. A loud rumble was heard and abruptly the roof began to collapse. All seemed hopeless.

Nearby was a carriage, steadily making it's way towards the Phantomhive mansion. Inside were two ladies. One dressed in a beautiful red dress that matched her hair, eyes and personality perfectly. She gazed down at the smaller girl while a soft smile was present on her lips. Much happiness filled them as they spoke of their day's adventure.

"Thank you for the wonderful outing today, Aunt Angelina!" The younger girl spoke. Her eyes were blue while her hair was a caramel brown. Her face was pale with only a small tint of pink to give it color. She was a rather plain girl, unfortunately she did not inherited her mother's blatant beauty. Still, Angelina Dalles found she loved her niece. She had a sweet and spunky personalty, her aunt thought was adorable.

"You are welcome darling! We shall have to do this again soon." Angelina closed her eyes while her smile widened. "Next time, we'll have to go shopping on your birthday, Christine, I know..." Suddenly the carriage halted. They could hear a loud and roaring crackling outside. Both females paused and looked towards the carriage door. "Hmmm, I wonder what's going on."

"Aunt An?" Christine Phantomhive questioned as her aunt stood and opened the carriage door. She stepped out but had not yet seen what caused the commotion.

"Don't look so distressed I'm sure its..." It was then Angelina saw what had caused this abrupt halt. Her eyes widened, while shock began to fill her. Phantomhive manor...it was burning? How? Why? When?

"Aunt An? Aunt An, what's wrong?" The younger girl pressed before she stood. Suddenly her aunt's hand raised, preventing her from exiting the carriage. Angelina needed to know what was going on. She needed answers before she bothered her niece with this horrible and sure to be upsetting news.

"Wait here." Madame Red ordered before she closed the carriage doors. Her red eyes widened as a ball of flames burst up through her sister's mansion. A haze filled the air from the black smoke that came with the fire. She could feel the warm blaze. It caused her face to glisten with sweat, almost like it was melting from the heat. Quickly she made her way over to a servant she knew worked for her sister. "What happened ? Where is my family?" The handmaiden paused, her face quickly paled and she debating what to tell her former lady's sister.

"We don't know what happened, my Lady. The mansion seemed to burst into flames without reason. There are rumors going around about the Earl and his wife, I'm afraid. I'm sorry but your sister and brother-in-law are likely gone." The old woman told her. Her face wrinkled and hair white with speckled grey hairs.

"What of my nephew?" Angelina questioned. Her heart fell in her chest but her voice was strong and unwavering. She needed to know everything. This was her family after all.

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Madam?" A familiar voice interrupted. The woman in red turned to see her niece had stepped out of the carriage and was a few feet away from her. There was a worried, confused look on the girl's face. Her blue eyes gazed across her burning home. "Aunt An, where is my mother and father?" The girl questioned, her eyes were wide. "Where is Ciel? What happened? Are they alright?"

Angelina Dalles' heart shattered. As a doctor she had seen much death in her life. Usually the people she watched die were old or sick. She knew the heart ache and pain that accompanied the death of loved ones from when her husband and child were lost. Now this innocent young girl would have to experience this heart shattering pain. Though it became difficult to breathe, Angelina gave her niece a small, reassuring smile.

"Come Christine," She motioned the girl away from the flames that were destroying her home. "Let us speak in the carriage." Everyone else was gone. Her husband, child, sister, the man she truly loved and her nephew. They had all been taken from her so suddenly and so violently. Yet, her fifteen year old niece remained. She was all that was left. Yes, they both still had one person to love and care about. She would do her best to parent the girl. Suddenly her niece stopped, causing the older woman to turn to her. "Christine?"

"What happens now? I..." Christine began to panic, she became overwhelmed with realization. Her gaze turned to the ground. It was her brother's birthday. She wanted to give him his present, to laugh and celebrate his life with their family. They were five years apart, still they had been close friends. Now, he may not even be alive? Nor were her father and mother? How could this happen? Why? Angelina quickly took note of her niece's grieved face. She knew this young girl needed answers and closure. Kindly she offered her hand out, catching the glance of the girl. She sent her a forced, small, sympathetic smile.

"We're going to be alright. You're going to come live with me for a while as we figure some things out. If our family is indeed in there, we'll grieve and we'll bury those we love but we shall do it together, understand? I promise, you'll be alright." Madame Red assured her niece before pulling her into a tight, protective embrace. The night's darkness began to engulf them. Her red eyes looked up at the grim sight. The fire was finally starting to die down. Soon, they would know for sure what had become of their loved ones.

~Author's Note~

Hi everyone! Welcome to my newest Black Butler story! I hope you all enjoyed the prologue and will join me for the first chapter. I recently discovered Black Butler and absolutely loved it so I decided to write this story. I hope you will enjoy it.

Just a few quick notes before we continue on. I am an amateur writing. I will and do make mistakes. I will try to have my story well edited before it's published. However, I will try to fix what errors I find as I find them. You are welcome to point these out as well, so they can get fixed quicker. Reviews are welcome and appreciated. Constructive criticism is also welcomed and encourage. I always find my writing improves when it's critiqued. So feel free to do that.

This story is rated "T" for now. May change to "M" in later chapters. The story begins during the first season of Black Butler.

Thank you for checking out my story! If you have time and are so inclined, feel free to leave a review! As always constructive criticism is welcome! Thanks again! ~Lin

Disclaimer: I do not own Madame Red, Ciel Phantomhive, Sebastian Michaelis or any other cannon character that will appear in this story. Nor am I making any money, this story is purely for fun and entertainment.