Helene sighed. "I wish he was too, chere. I know he's watchin' you today, though. I know he'd be proud. He's always hoped for dis, ever since your prom night."

Mercy looked at the reflection of herself and her mother in the full-length mirror before her and smiled even though she didn't feel like it. She was very happy to be marrying the man she loved, but she was sad too. The mirror should have been reflecting three images. Her father should have been there.

When Mercy was twenty-two years old, there had been a huge fight in the streets of New Orleans between the Thieves and Assassins Guilds. Her father, who had protested the fact that she wanted to take part, but didn't stop her, knowing she had earned her place in the Guild of Thieves, had been one of the casualties. His death was the only one the Thieves suffered that day, and it had taken every ounce of strength and determination Mercy possessed to continue as a member of the Guild.

She and her old friend Emil had become closer friends since then, because of the affinity they shared. Four years prior to her father's death, the Assassins had broken into Emil's home while he wasn't there and killed his entire family. Going on wasn't easy for either one, but they were both strong and they succeeded. Emil had gone away to school and come back a trained computer specialist. And Mercy kept going, becoming one of the most loyal members of the Guild. And now she was marrying the heir to the organization, Henri LeBeau.

There was a knock at the door. Helene went over and asked who it was, knowing that Henri was not supposed to see Mercy before she began her walk down the aisle of the intricate cathedral.

"Who is it?" Helene asked through the door.

"Jean-Luc." Came the reply. Helene opened the door and smiled at the well-dressed Guild leader.

When Mercy saw Jean-Luc she realized it was time. "Mama, you better go take your seat."

Helene left, going downstairs to join the rest of the people gathered for the ceremony. Mercy and Jean-Luc looked at each other and smiled.

"You're beautiful, Mercy. Absolutely stunning," Jean-Luc told his soon-to-be daughter-in-law. "Are you ready?" He offered her his arm, and she took it.

"Jean-Luc…thank you for dis. I…" Mercy faltered as they left the room.

Jean-Luc paused and she looked up at him. "He would want me to do dis, Mercy. An' I am more den happy to do it. B'sides, I don' have a daughter, dis is de only chance I'm goin' to get to walk a girl down de aisle!"

Mercy laughed, then took a deep breath and said, " Okay. Let's go!"

At the front of the church, Henri was about ready to ring his little brother's neck. Thirteen-year-old Remy, adopted by Jean-Luc three years ago, could not and would not stand still, and it was driving the already nervous Henri crazy. It was also making Genard and Emil laugh, which didn't help Henri's nerves any.

"Mercy doesn't have any bridesmaids, tell me why I need you three up here with me!" he hissed to them. He glared at his three best men. "You two, stop laughing. And Remy, if you fidget during the ceremony, I will kill you."

Remy looked at brother as Emil and Genard made a gallant effort to stop laughing. They succeeded once they saw Tante Mattie glaring at them warningly from the audience. "But Henri, I hate dis suit…" Remy protested. "It itches."

Henri sighed and looked at the ceiling. "Heaven help me…" he whispered before turning to his brother once more. "I know, Rem. Jus' try to ignore it, okay? Dis is a very big moment for me, you'll understand dat someday, an' I don' want anyt'ing to go wrong. So please don' fidget. Please. I'm beggin' you, mon petite frere. Oh an' don' make dose two morons laugh either, okay? Jus' stand still."

Remy nodded as the music started up. The wedding march played gloriously throughout the church. Henri froze where he was, eyes focused at the end of the aisle. There, he saw his father, looking elegant in his tuxedo. And on his father's arm was the most beautiful woman Henri had ever seen, the woman who was about to become his wife. It was time.

When the ceremony was over, and they were in the limo heading to the reception hall, Henri started laughing. Mercy looked at him, confused, while she fingered the gold wedding band on her left hand in wonder.

"What's so funny?" she asked him.

Henri just kept laughing. When he stopped and caught his breath, he said, "It went off without a hitch. I can' believe it. It was perfect. You are so beautiful, Mercy, have I told you that yet today?"

"Um…only about five times since we got into the car, yeah. But it's okay. An' why wouldn' it go off perfectly?"

"Two minutes before de ceremony b'gan, Remy was squirming like someone had sprayed him with itching powder, an' Emil an' Genard were laughing fit to be tied. An' yet, dey all b'haved demselves. I'll have to tell dem I'm proud of dem." Henri explained.

"No wonder you're relieved, den!" Mercy giggled. She, too, was suddenly relieved that all had gone well.

"Yeah…hey," Henri replied, taking her face in his hands. "You know somet'ing?" he asked, his brown eyes filled with warmth.

"What?" Mercy asked.

"I love you."

Mercy gave him her most charming smile and replied, "I love you too."

Their kiss ended just as the limo pulled up outside the reception hall.

"Mercy, relax, would you?" Helene sighed. "You have seven an' a half months to come up wit' a name for dis baby, you don' have to do it dis second. But if you want my opinion, dose are both nice names. An' so are all de other names you an' Henri have thrown at Jean-Luc an' me for de past three weeks."

"Mama, you're no help!" Mercy complained. Henri walked in as she said it, and laughed.

"Playin' de name game 'gain, are we?" he snickered. "Helene, you an' Papa may as well get used to it. I have a feelin' we're goin' be runnin' names by you until de day dis baby is born."

Helene returned his smile. "Oh, oui, I know dat. An' b'lieve me, we're both thrilled to pieces. We're only pretendin' to mind when you run names by us. Neither one of us minds in de least."

"Mama!" Mercy protested. "Dat's not fair!"

"Petite, you should know dis right now. Grandparents, especially first time grandparents, are never fair to anyone except their grandchildren."

"Mercy, I t'ink our baby is goin' to be spoiled rotten by our parents. Maybe we should move away." Henri joked.

"Don' you dare!" Helene exclaimed, horrified. "Your father an' I would never forgive you!"

"Jus' kiddin', Helene." Henri assured her.

"Good!"

Two weeks later, Mercy woke up in the middle of the morning with a weird feeling. Something wasn't right, but at first she didn't know what it was. She looked over at Henri, who was still sleeping peacefully beside her. That wasn't it. Frowning, she decided to get up.

'Maybe my baby doesn' like it when I oversleep,' she thought, pushing the covers off and getting ready to climb out of bed. When she pushed the covers off, she froze, suddenly seeing what the problem was. The bed was covered in blood.

"Henri!" she exclaimed in horror.

Henri's eyes snapped open. "What's wrong?" he demanded in alarm, sitting up…and seeing the blood on the bed. Mercy looked at him, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

"Oh no…" Henri said softly, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, as he reached over to hold his wife. "Oh Mercy, honey, I…"

The young couple knew what had happened. All they could do was hold each other and cry out their grief. They stayed that way for a long time before getting up and going to the doctor, who confirmed that Mercy had miscarried.

Their family was told first. Then, the rest of the Guild was gathered and informed. Everyone supported them and did their best to help them get through the ordeal, but in the end, only Mercy and Henri could help each other. They had been so happy, so expectant, so excited to be parents. Now all they could feel was an unbearable sadness. But they knew they could go on, and with the support of the Guild, they did. It was hard, but they made it, never forgetting the baby that would never be theirs in life, only in spirit, but also not staying in the past.

"Who's fault is it den, Mercy?" she demanded. "All I wanted to do today is get married. Not have my husband kill my brother minutes after de ceremony!"

"Dis whole t'ing was a bad idea from de start…" Mercy muttered. To Bella Donna, she said, "Julian started it, you were dere, you heard him!"

Bel glared. "How dare you blame dis on my brother!" she shouted. "Get out."

"Fine. If you won' see reason, dere's no point to me stayin' anyway." Mercy replied hotly, wishing Julian Boudreaux had just kept his big-shot mouth shut and let Remy and Bel be happy on their wedding day.

When she returned to the LeBeau mansion, Henri wasn't there, but Remy was, with Emil and Genard. Remy was as distraught as Bella Donna was, knowing that everyt'ing their fathers had planned for was in ruins. He had not meant to kill Julian, hadn't even wanted to fight him, but when Julian confronted him, he had to, for the honor of the Thieves Guild. It hadn't occurred to any of them that the unification was at stake with that fight, not until it was over. Once it was over, Julian, the Assassin heir, was dead, Remy was responsible, the Thieves didn't know what to do, and the Assassins were furious.

Remy packed his things and left, knowing he would not be able to return for a long time. He said good-bye to his sister-in-law and his friends, wishing there was another alternative, but realizing there wasn't.

Remy's departure from New Orleans tore the Thieves apart. He was only a kid, just eighteen years old. They knew he could take care of himself, but they still worried about him.

One night, a couple of weeks after the fateful day when Remy left, Mercy entered the living room at the mansion to find Jean-Luc and Henri sitting in silence, with concerned expressions on their faces. Mercy sighed and decided to do something about their depressed states.

"He'll be fine," she said, sitting beside Henri. "He was taught by de New Orleans Thieves Guild, remember? B'sides, he took care of himself for ten years b'fore we came into his life, an' he can take care of himself now. I can' stop you from worryin' 'bout him, but dere's no need to keep dwellin' on it. He's a survivor, jus' like de rest of us. An' he'll come back someday."

"We know you're right, Mercy," Henri replied, smiling at her. "It's hard to remember it though. He's a kid."

"I know. De whole t'ing was out of our control. Julian was a jerk for startin' it; Bel's a jerk for blamin' Remy…an' maybe…" Mercy faltered.

"Maybe de whole idea was a stupid one to b'gin wit', non?" Jean-Luc asked cynically. "Marius an' I t'ought it would work, but it looks like we were wrong."

"Maybe de unification of de two Guilds will work someday," Mercy said thoughtfully. "But arranging a marriage between two eighteen-year-old kids was probably not de right way to make it happen."

"De unification will happen someday, Mercy. De prophecies say so." Jean-Luc replied. "It's jus' a matter of time, I guess."