"Mercy, honey, please stop making a fuss about dis." Helene Cordeau pleaded, standing in the doorway of her young daughter's bedroom. "You know he doesn' have a choice in de matter. Jean-Luc said so."

"I don' care." Mercy replied, her voice muffled by the fact that she had her head buried in her pillow. "M'sieu LeBeau doesn' know not'ing. Why can' dey reschedule de meeting?"

Helene sighed. "Petite, I don' know. Dese t'ings are complicated. It's no up to Jean-Luc." She walked across the room and sat on Mercy's bed, rubbing the young girl's back.

Mercy sat up and faced her mother. "Mama, he's goin' to miss my birthday! Dat's not fair!"

"Je sais, ma fille. I realize that. Mais, if you t'ink about it, de boys will be dere. An' dey're your best friends. So it won' be dat bad."

Mercy rolled her eyes, but hid a secret smile at the thought of hanging out with three cute boys for an evening. "De only reason Henri, Genard an' Emil are my best friends is b'cause dere are no other girls around my age. I'm not goin' play with Chloe! She's just a kid."

Helene laughed. "I know that too. Now, are dere any girls from school you'd like to invite?" she asked, trying to get her daughter's mind off the fact that her father would have to miss her birthday to be at a meeting in Paris.

Mercy groaned. "None of de kids at school like me," she said softly. "Not dat I blame dem for it."

Helene tilted her head. "Why not? You're pretty, smart an' charming. Why don' dey like you."

"Mama, are you really dat dense?" Mercy giggled. "Papa is in de Thieves Guild. De kids at school know it. No one really likes de boys either. Same reason."

Helene was concerned by what her daughter was telling her. The idea that the children of the Guild were outcasts at school worried her. She had a feeling the Guild members didn't know a thing about it. "Mercy, I had no idea…"

"It's okay, Mama. We're not dat bad off. It jus' means we stick together." Mercy assured her. An' I guess I don' mind only havin' de boys at my birthday…"

"If you say so, chere. Excuse me, I have to talk to your father about somet'ing." Helene told her.

"Mama!" Mercy said as her mother reached the door. "Don' tell him what I said. De reason none of us ever say anyt'ing 'bout it is b'cause we don' want dem to worry. We're okay. We might jus' be kids, mais, we're stronger den we look."

"Mercy Cordeau, I can' jus' not tell dem! Dat would be like lyin' to dem, an' I won' do dat."

Mercy sighed. "Okay…"

A little while later, there was a knock on Mercy's door. She looked up from the story she was reading for her English class and smiled. "Hi, Papa. Hi M'sieu LeBeau. Come in." she said, putting the book down on her desk and waiting for them. She knew what they were there for.

Jacques looked at his daughter expectantly. "Are you still upset 'bout de fact dat your birthday party will be missin' a few guests?"

"Sort of. But I do understand, Papa. Don' worry 'bout it." Mercy said.

"We're sorry for havin' to miss your birthday, Mercy." Jean-Luc said, smiling at her. "It's not everyday a girl turns thirteen."

"I know, M'sieu LeBeau. But it's okay. I don' mind, really. De boys will be dere." Mercy replied.

"Dat's what we'd like to talk to you 'bout, petite." Jacques said quietly. "Your mother told me somet'ing a little while ago dat disturbs us all greatly."

Mercy sighed. "She had to go an' tell you…I asked her not to, but she said she couldn' lie. I don' s'pose I'd have been able to either."

"Are you an' de boys really outcasts at school, chere?" Jacques asked, deciding to just ask her and get it over with.

Mercy nodded. "Oui," she replied. "It started awhile ago, once we all started growin' up some. De other kids don' like us. We don' mind, we jus' stick together an' don' worry too much 'bout de rest of dem."

"An' it's b'cause we're in de Guild, isn' it?" Jean-Luc commented. He didn't like it at all, and was planning on discussing it with Henri when he got home. As the Guild patriarch, it was part of his job to make sure everything was okay for the Guild members and their families, and the idea that the young people had kept their problems a secret from the adults was discouraging.

"Yeah…dey know de names. Dey know who you guys all are. Dey hear 'bout de t'ings dat happen, an' 'bout de problems wit' de Assassins, an' I guess dey t'ink we're de same as you. Dat's all."

"An' you jus' put up wit' it?" Jacques demanded, appalled.

"Papa, we don' mind it, really! It's not such a bad t'ing. It's not like dey do anyt'ing to us, dey mainly jus' avoid us." Mercy explained, wishing she had never brought the subject up to her mother. Her father and Jean-Luc were overreacting, and she knew Genard and Emil's fathers would do the same thing.

Jean-Luc, his long brown ponytail hanging over his shoulder, was sitting in the armchair across from them, smoking a cigarette. Jacques was standing on one side of him, Francois Lapin, Emil's father, was on the other. Behind them were Pierre Alouette, Genard's father, as well as the other two members of the Guild, Theoren Marceaux and Claude Poitier. The six men did not look happy with the children, and the children were not happy to be sitting there. They would have much rather been out roaming around somewhere looking for trouble to get into.

"You've all kept sayin' dis isn't a big deal." Jean-Luc said. "But it is. Are you happy?"

"Papa, we have each other, we have you guys, an' we have Tante Mattie. What more do we need?" Henri wanted to know. He was the oldest of the group at fourteen years old. Genard was next, having turned thirteen two months prior to this little group meeting. Mercy was next, at almost thirteen, and eleven-and-a-half-year-old Emil was the youngest. Not counting his sister, Chloe, who was five, but she wasn't involved in this anyway.

"Henri, do you know what dey want for you four?" Theoren asked, deciding to answer the question after seeing that the others remained silent. Henri shook his head. "Dey want you to be safe an' happy. In school, in life, in everyt'ing. Dey worry 'bout you all de time, we all do, b'cause we know it's not easy bein' Guild children. We've all been dere."

"We're not angry dat you didn' tell us, but you should have. We don' bite, you know." Francois said. "Don' t'ink you can' come to us wit' anyt'ing. You can."

"You asked if we're happy." Mercy reminded them. The six men nodded. "Well, I t'ink we are. I mean, what Henri said, we have each other, we're best friends, a team. We don' really need dose kids at school. Dey don' understand us anyway…"

"Okay. We'll let it go at dat. But if somet'ing happens, please promise us you'll tell us. No matter what it is. Dat's de main point of dis meetin'." Jean-Luc requested.

The four kids agreed. They all knew it was a good thing for them that they could go to the adults in the Guild if they needed to. They felt better about the whole thing, and were happy they're weren't in trouble for keeping it a secret.

Mercy didn't know exactly when Henri went from being one of her best friends to being a guy she had a huge crush on. The only person who knew about it was her mother, who thought it was sweet.

"Honey, relax. No one should miss their senior prom. I know he didn't go to his own, but there is no reason why he wouldn't ask you to yours. Is Genard going?"

"Non…he doesn't have a date. Remember five years ago when we told you we were outcasts? It hasn't exactly gotten any better since den."

"I'm sorry to hear dat, Mercy. Well if Henri doesn' ask you, why don' you ask Genard? It might be good for him, he doesn' get out much…neither does Emil."

"Emil spends all his time in front of his computer. An' Genard…well…I don' know…" Mercy faltered. "I guess I could…but I still hope Henri asks me."

"No, Genard. I'm not gon' tell you." Henri replied. He had a lot on his mind, what with the fact that it was almost time for him to try to become a full Guild member. Plus, he had a well-concealed crush on Mercy. So well concealed that only Genard and Emil knew about it, but Henri had a feeling Emil had forgotten somewhere along the line. It wouldn't have surprised him.

"Aw, please? Are you gon' ask her or not?" Genard persisted. Emil looked from the new hacking program he was working on and finally noticed that his friends were there.

"Ask who what?" he asked.

Henri laughed. "You know, Red, if you would take a moment to pay 'tention to what goes on b'yond dat computer screen, you might not be so out of touch wit' us." He grinned, spinning Emil's chair around.

"Whatever." Emil replied, righting himself in front of the computer and glaring at Henri over his shoulder. "So, what's he talkin' 'bout?"

"I'm talkin' 'bout de senior prom. He won' tell me if he's goin' to ask Mercy or not." Genard replied.

"Why? You gon' ask her if he doesn'?" Emil joked. "I t'ought you didn' want to go to it."

"I don'. An' no, dat's not why I'm askin' him. Henri, come on. Just ask her, would you? You want to, so what's stoppin' you?"

"Persistent, aren' you, Genard?" Henri said with a sigh. "Very well. B'cause you want to know, oui, I am plannin' on askin' her. There, you happy now?"

"Yup." Genard smiled, pushing his glasses up on his nose and peering at Emil's computer screen, trying to make sense of the codes that Emil quickly typed up with ease. "Hey Red, what's all dis?"

Emil sighed and swiveled in his chair. He pushed Genard onto the bed, away from the computer. "'Dis' is none of your business," he said, waving at Genard before turning back to the screen. "Bye-bye, now."

Henri laughed. "Why do I put up wit' de two of you?"

Emil and Genard looked at each other and grinned. Then they looked at Henri and said in unison, "B'cause you love us!"

Henri shook his head. "Yeah, an' dat's s'posed to make me feel better?"

Emil and Genard looked at each other again. "Oh no! He doesn' love us!" Genard exclaimed in mock horror. "Whatever will we do now?"

"Dat's it. I'm never leavin' dis chair again." Emil replied. "My computer, at least, loves me, even if some people don'."

The boys both doubled over laughing at the expression on Henri's face.

"What's de matter, Henri? Can' take a little sarcasm?" Genard asked.

Henri sighed. "I'm goin' to Mercy's. You two clowns have fun."

Helene answered the door when Henri rang the doorbell. "Oh, hello Henri. Come on in." she greeted him with a smile.

"Hi Mrs. Cordeau. Is Mercy around?" Henri asked, stepping into the front hall and getting out of the way so she could close the door behind him.

"She's in her room. You can wait in de living room while I get her for you if you wish." Helene replied, showing him into the living room.

"Merci." Henri smiled, sitting on the couch to wait for Mercy.

A couple of minutes later, Mercy entered the room. Helene wisely didn't join them. She had a feeling the two teenagers wouldn't like to be eavesdropped on or chaperoned.

"Hi, Henri!" Mercy said, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. Henri didn't miss the blush, but he didn't comment on it either. 'I t'ink she likes me!' he thought to himself with a tinge of satisfaction and relief.

"Hi…I'm not interrupting anyt'ing, am I?"

"Non, I was jus' reading. I could use de break…I don' like Shakespeare. What's up?"

"Oh! Um…I was wonderin' if you'd like to go for a walk or somet'ing?" Henri stammered. "I mean, I know it's still daylight out an' our fathers would probably shoot us if dey found out, but, I don' know I kinda feel like takin' a walk, an'…"

"An' what?" Mercy prodded with a sly grin.

"An', well…I'd like for you to come wit' me, if you want to." Henri said, feeling his face get hot.

Mercy raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that Henri usually did most things with Genard and Emil. "What's wrong wit' de boys?"

"Genard's bein' a pain in de neck. An' I don' t'ink anyt'ing short of a flood, a tornado an' an earthquake all at de same time could get Emil away from dat computer of his."

Mercy laughed. "What else is new? Genard's always a pain in de neck. An' someday, de entire Guild will be glad Emil spends so much time at his computer," she told him. "Aside from dat, oui, I would love to go for a walk wit' you, jus' let me tell Mama."

Five minutes later, the two were walking down the street into town, acutely aware that the sidewalk was barely big enough for two people to walk side by side without bumping into each other. For the most part they were silent, lost in their own thoughts. Henri was trying to get up the courage to ask Mercy the question he came to ask. And Mercy was praying he'd ask her.

Finally, Henri just decided to ask and get it over with. "Um…I kinda wanted to ask you somet'ing…dat's de other reason I wanted to go for dis walk…" he said, biting his lip and silently praying she'd say yes. He'd passed up on his own senior prom the year before because he'd wanted to wait and take Mercy to her own. He thought it would mean more than just taking her to his.

"Oui…?" Mercy asked, hardly able to contain the smile that was threatening to show itself.

"You, um, you don' have a date for de prom yet, do you?" he asked, wishing there was an easier way to ask her. 'I should have jus' called an' asked her, instead of doin' dis in person!' he thought.

"I have a grand total of three friends. What do you t'ink?" Mercy joked. "I don', non."

"Well, I was wonderin', would you, um, like to go wit' me?" Henri mentally crossed his fingers and hoped for the best now that the question was asked.

"Henri, I don' know what to say!" Mercy said, while thinking 'Sure you don'!' and wishing she could jump up and down for joy. She gave him her most charming smile and said, "I would love to. Thank you."

Four weeks later, Henri showed up at the Cordeau house in his Ferrari, corsage box on the seat beside him. The pep talk he'd been giving himself since he left his house wasn't working; he was a nervous wreck. Even the job he'd had to do in order to prove his worth to become a member of the Guild hadn't made him as nervous as this was.

Jacques met Henri at the door, camera in hand. Now that Henri was a full member of the Guild, he could call the others by their first names, instead of being proper about it all the time. "You look nervous, Henri."

"I'm a wreck, but don' you dare tell her, Jacques. I mean it! Is she ready yet or do I have time to sit down an' maybe get a grip?"

Jacques laughed. "She's not quite ready, from what dey're telling me. Helene's helping her fix her hair. I t'ink she'll be down soon. Go have a seat."

Mercy walked down the stairs fifteen minutes later and took Henri LeBeau's breath away. Her long blonde hair was styled up on her head and she was wearing an amazing dark green gown that made Mercy's green eyes seem even greener. She reminded Henri of a princess.

Jacques took a picture of her when she reached the bottom of the stairs, which brought a blush to her already flushed cheeks. "Papa! Don'!" she demanded before stepping down and twirling in front of Henri. "Well? What do you t'ink?" she asked.

Henri felt like he'd died and gone to heaven. He couldn't take his eyes off her. "Wow…" he said, placing the corsage on her arm. "You're…wow." He silently cursed himself for not being able to compliment her properly, but she seemed pleased anyway.

"Merci!" she smiled. "You look pretty spiffy yourself."

They agreed to let Jacques take a few more pictures before heading to the school gym where the prom was taking place. They had no friends there, but they didn't let that bother them. The time they didn't spend on the dance floor, they spent sitting at one of the candle-lit tables talking. They had a great time, enjoying each other's company. At the end of the night, Henri drove Mercy home and, like the gentleman his father raised him to be, he walked her to the door.

"I had a great time tonight, Henri, t'anks." Mercy said, smiling shyly at him, hoping he'd kiss her.

Henri had already decided he was going to kiss her, and he was nervous about how she'd react to it. "So did I…it was a lot of fun."

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, huh?" Mercy replied, getting the impression he was nervous but not calling him on it or letting him know she knew. She turned towards the door, not wanting to wait all night.

"Yeah…um, Mercy?" Henri asked, moving closer to her. She didn't notice he had moved, because her back was turned and she couldn't see him. She turned back and, with a quizzical expression on her face, said,

"Oui?"

'It's now or never…' Henri thought and with that, he took her in his arms, leaned over and kissed her.

At first, Mercy didn't quite know what to do, but she found herself figuring it out pretty quickly. Somehow, her arms found their way around him and she returned his kiss, willing her legs to not give out on her.

A few minutes later, after they said goodnight, Mercy kicked off her high heels and ran upstairs to her room, amazed that she could actually move. Her whole body was trembling, she felt like she had a whole fleet of butterflies in her stomach. She shut the door quietly and leaned against it for a minute before going to bed.

"Wow…" she said, with a small smile on her face. "I t'ink t'ings are goin' to start getting interesting from now on…"