WELCOME! This story is a CROSSOVER FIC involving several key aspects of Robin LaFevers amazing novel "Grave Mercy" and i in no way claim to own those ideas i have borrowed, nor do i own the characters from the FFVIII or the world i use here. I make no money from this, it is simply for my own demented pleasure. And i will say that you do not need to have read GRAVE MERCY in order to understand this fic. Please enjoy and REVIEW!

Young thirteen year old Rinoa pulled nervously at the hem of her dress as her mother, the beautiful pianist Julia pulled a brush through her daughter's dark hair. They were getting ready to attend some party or function for her father and his military buddies. Rinoa didn't care much for these kinds of parties. They were never any fun. She always had to sit quietly and feign interest in whatever the grown ups were talking about while her mother drank too much wine and her father focused all his attention on the other generals in the King's army, often leaving Rinoa to her own devices in a room full of political vultures.

When she was younger, maybe eight or nine, this hadn't been much of an issue as Rinoa wouldn't come to these kinds of parties. Or if she did, she was not expected to be seen, but could remain behind the scenes with the other children too young to behave themselves, and their nannies. Her father was the Duke of Deling City, and a high ranking General in the King's army. That's the King of Galbadia, thank you very much. And as such, Rinoa was expected to act like a princess. This was tough for her since all she seemed to do was get in trouble. She had a head filled with stories she made up herself of a princess who ran around in armor and fought mighty beasts to save the prince from the tower. She was forever getting scolded by her mother for tearing a dress or scraping a knee and getting dirty when she should be doing something "lady like".

But as she got older it seemed that this world was one that didn't want her to be her own kind of princess. They wanted a woman who would sit quietly by and not pay attention while the big strong men made all the decisions, and then wanted her to take that same compliancy for a little rubbing between the sheets. Or in any dark secluded place they decided to whip it out. These men disgusted her. She was only thirteen! And a lady, besides. Never mind the fact that she had her fun learning and experimenting with the boys she wasn't so disgusted by. That was different. She could get away from those boys, they went into the situation prepared to force her. Though leading the boys on too far had its own sort of punishment, even though you could get away with your innocence still basically intact. That usually led to some rude name calling later. Rinoa still preferred to be known as the 'tease' rather than the town slut.

Despite all the reasons Rinoa hated these parties, here she was, getting her hair brushed until it shown and her make-up applied by her lady-in-waiting, and gown selected by her fashion expert mother. Rinoa noted that her mother already had a glass of wine in her hand, but chose not to ask if it was her first or not. What did it matter anyway? Rinoa was sure to have her own problems to contend with at the party. As the daughter of a Duke of Galbadia, she was practically destined to face an arranged marriage. Like her parents, who had chosen Julia Heartily for her families wealth and loyalty to the thrown for their son; Rinoa, too would have her suitor chosen carefully since he would one day be the Duke of Galbadia's Deling City.

Even knowing that her chastity meant her honor, the boys still attempted to talk her out of her knickers.

Only one had ever attempted to force himself upon her. She had politely refused his advance when he had come upon her in the chocobo stables one day. HE had grabbed her arm with such force it had bruised and wrenched her into the empty stall behind him. Rinoa had reacted before she could think, the very blood in her veins had seemed to boil and she lashed out in anger, slapping the older boy across the face and she remembered the boys pants suddenly erupting in flames. He had run from her then screeching about witches and sorcery.

That was the night of Rinoa's first beating. Her father had closed the door to his office sealing the two of them alone inside, and had made sure she knew in no uncertain terms that there would be no more unnatural sorcery under his roof. It was as if he were possessed by a demon. That was only a year ago, two weeks before her twelfth birthday.

After her father left her, her mother had run into the room reeking of alcohol and had given her a confusing combination of a loving mother daughter doctoring session that involved a sweet milk laced with poppy for the pain and a terse verbal lashing that left her head spinning.

Her mother kept repeating she should never do that again. Do what again? She wondered, Get mauled by a horny, overbearing boy in a darkened corner? Surely the freak accident involving his pants catching fire could not seriously be blamed on her? It was true that no one really believed that Rinoa had set the boy's pants on fire using magic. Surely he had just been careless and bumped into a candle or torch or some such. At least, it seemed they didn't blame her. But that didn't stop her father from keeping a sharp eye on her after that. That was also when her mother started drinking heavily.

It was a very long time before Rinoa learned the truth about her powers. It had come slowly over time. Instances where in wanting things bad enough she had somehow brought them to be. Usually at the most inexplicable of times, too. For instance, she remembered once when she had been swimming naked at night in the pond behind her family's estate. A few of her girlfriends had dared her and Rinoa was never one to turn down a challenge. Some boys had found out, or maybe even been tipped off and had snuck up on her in order to try to steal her clothes, leaving her to walk across the open yard and around the chocobo stables naked!

"STOP!" She had shrieked at them. And yet no one was more startled than her when they actually did! They froze in their tracks like statues and moved not so much as a muscle while she scrambled up the bank, blushing from head to toe to snatch her clothes from their hands and pulled the nightdress over her head before fleeing back to the manor. Her aforementioned friends at her mother's country club had laughed for days when they heard that one. They had joked about her being a siren. That was when something clicked in her mind. It was magic.

"There," her mother said, eyeing Rinoa approvingly. "You look absolutely stunning, sweetheart." Rinoa dipped a small curtsey at her reflection and her mother smiled brightly.

"I think we are ready now." Her mothers face grew suddenly somber, and she waved her hands dismissively at the servants still in the room, then waited as they bobbed and left. "Rinoa, how are you feeling?"

Under normal circumstances this wouldn't seem like an odd question, except that is was obvious that Rinoa wasn't feeling ill. But Rinoa knew what her mother was really asking her. She was asking if she was feeling particularly "magical".

Oh yes, there had been a time when Rinoa had run to her mother, trying to understand why her father would beat her for things that couldn't possibly have been her fault. She had always gotten noncommittal answers, usually revolving around her father's stress level and the importance of his image… it was all a crock. Particularly when she would follow that with something along the lines of; Don't do that ever again.

Then the time had come when it had all clicked in her head. When she realized that she had been the one doing it. When she had finally put all the pieces together and realized what that meant she was. A word no one in her house dare use around her parents. Not even in jest, and certainly not in the same breath as Rinoa: Sorceress.

She had gone to the church then, eyes rimmed with red from tears of confusion. There just weren't sorceress' around any more. They had all been hunted down during the Sorceress Wars. Adel had been the last, and she was long dead. Killed by the expatriate turned usurper Estharian King. Yet here she was. She had sat in the church and listened to the ringing of the bells. Lost in thought, she studied the faces of the different saints portrayed in the stained glass windows and the small altars that stood before them. There were nine, and in her studies she had learned them all. But right now she was focused on the one in the center. The one at the dead center at the front of the church. It was a statue depicting the Goddess Hyne. Who had passed her powers down to the sorceresses when she was trapped and defeated by the ancient King of Centra.

Filled with a small sense of comfort, she had gone home to see her Lady Mother. Julia Heartily had told her that she must always hide it. "No one would stand for the existence of a sorceress on a royal chair."

Even as she knew what her mother said was true, the look in her eyes as she spoke the words squeezed at Rinoa's heart. Her mother continued on, her eyes flashing dangerously. "A sorceress is inherently, irreparably, insane. The people will hunt you down and destroy you in fear. It wouldn't matter whose daughter you are, or the fact that you had never hurt anyone."

There would be nothing either of her parents could do.

"Fear" her mother had told her, "is the only thing that corrupts a person faster than power." That was why her father had beaten her. Apparently that was the only way he could cope with it, maybe in some sick, twisted way, he thought he could beat it out of her. Luckily, he was away a lot this past year. She always breathed a little easier without the fear of her lord father's ominous presence.

Ever since then, her mother would sometimes ask her how she was "feeling" and Rinoa would know she was asking about more than just her health.

"Perfectly normal, mother." Rinoa forced a smile and her mother looked visibly relieved for just a second before securing her emotions behind her court mask. She turned on her heels gracefully with a flourish of silk and left Rinoa to follow.

This was, after all, a big night for the General. Practically all the important men in Galbadia's army were supposed to be there. They were going to gather in the ballroom on her family's estate and have a grand banquet to dance with pretty ladies and make toasts to each others magnificence.

The whole thing made Rinoa a little sick. Not to mention that parties like this often bored her to the point of allowing her eyes to glaze over and sport fantasies of locking the doors to the building and setting the place on fire…. Then at the last moment when people were just about to start burning, she would of course allow the sprinklers to come on and with a little help from her water magic she would save the day! 'What a terrifying experience!' they would say, 'Thank Hyne that young sorceress girl was there otherwise we'd all have fried!'

Rinoa sighed, it would take some practice to accomplish something like that. It was terribly hard to practice magic in secret at the Caraway Manor.

Or anywhere for that matter.

She followed her mother down the various corridors of the Caraway manor, their servants trailing behind. As they got closer to the ballroom they could hear the sound of music and laughter.

After the sun had begun to set and the party had begun in earnest, Rinoa found herself wishing she was still young enough to go and play with the younger children. Surely thirteen was not too old for such gaiety? She sighed heavily and fingered the velvet curtains hanging to either side of the window she was lurking in front of. She could hear her father talking loudly at the front of the room.

There was a soft tap on her shoulder and she turned, startled, to look into the clear blue eyes of Thomas, a stable boy. He had a way with the chocobos that made him a favorite the other help. Both in her fathers eyes, and Rinoa's own.

He pushed a strand of hair behind Rinoa's ear and leaned forward to whisper something into it, "You haven't been to see me in almost a full week. I miss you."

A delicious shiver shot down Rinoa's spine. Thomas was a master at setting her pulse racing. Unlike other boys, he also never got mad and called her a tease when she would suddenly get shy and not want to go any further than kissing and petting. Thomas was content to kiss her. He called her a princess, even though he knew she wasn't. And she was always sneaking out to the stables to go chocobo riding with him. There was never any pressure from Thomas. He was content to just be her friend, and if that friendship including helping the princess to practice at the womanly arts, then so be it.

Rinoa smiled at the lusty twinkle in his eyes. "What are you thinking that has put that gleam in your eyes?" She asked him with a quirk to her eyebrows.

"I happen to know of a little alcove not more than thirty paces from here that is quite empty and that no one will notice either of us are missing…" Rinoa started to play coy with him, but stopped herself. She did want away from these people.

At her nod of consent, Thomas took her hand and led her off in the direction of the coat room. They got in miraculously unnoticed, and Rinoa scoped the room while Thomas secured the door behind them. Inside was lined with rack after rack of fine coats taken off of all the guests here tonight.

In a matter of seconds they were on each other, with all the vigor of their teenage hormones. Thomas was kissing his way down Rinoa's neck when the screaming started.

Rinoa looked at Thomas, confusion plain in both their faces. Rinoa had to squash a snarl of disappointment. She hadn't even got her pulse racing yet…

They poked their heads out of the door into the hallway to a scene of utter chaos. People were running down the hall, panic plain in their eyes, fleeing from the ballroom.

She moved forward on auto pilot, a horrible gut wrenching feeling kept her feet moving one in front of another as the people pushing past her finally cleared out of the way. What she saw, however, stopped her in her tracks. There was her mother, kneeling on the floor keening pitifully over a man lying perfectly still.

A man in a Galbadian General's uniform.

No!

Rinoa ran forward and fell to the floor next to her father's body. Her mother was crying in great wracking sobs. Her mascara running in rivers down her pale skin.

She looked into her fathers face and saw something strange. There was a dark shadow on his lips. A dark stain that could not be wiped away, despite how she tried with her dresses sleeve.

"Mother? What is that on father's lips? That dark stain…" she looked at her mother, she had steadied only slightly to look at her daughter. Her eyes flicked to her husband questioningly. "Stain?… Rinoa… I don't see anything…"

"How did this happen? What is going on? Mother, tell me!" She shook her mother a little harder than she meant to, but it got her attention. She looked at her daughter with tears in her eyes and said a single word, "Poison"

But that didn't make sense, either… who would poison her father? Before she could fully consider the fact, or even truly comprehend that her father was dead, a hand clasped around her mouth and wrenched her to her feet. While the other hand placed a knife against her throat.

A few paces in front of her, her mother was also facing a similar attacker. She couldn't see the face, only that it was a slight form that could hide behind her mother's body with ease. And when the pianist fainted in her captors arms, the woman lowered her to the floor and looked at her exposed skin closely enough to be strange.

These women weren't much older than she was! Sweet Goddess! What was going on?

But before she could speak, the women examining her mother addressed the one restraining her "She isn't marqued anywhere that I can see. She is alive, just fainted, though it seems she did ingest some of the poison. Her breathing is labored… I don't understand…" She looked up at Rinoa.

As she struggled to rein in her fear, she felt the beginning ripples of anger rising up within her. She grabbed onto it and let it fill her up, chasing away everything else.

She was a daughter of Hyne! These people would not come here and kill her family that easily! If only she knew how to control it.

Rinoa felt her captor start to speak, but she interrupted, "Marqed like on my father's lips?" The words were out before Rinoa could even think to stop them. As far as se knew, the smudge was simply from the poison the had killed him with.

Both women looked at her strangely, as if she had just done something very interesting.

"You can see the marque?" the woman holding her arms whispered into her ear. "How can that be?"

Rinoa wasn't sure what this woman was talking about but as she was deciding what to do she saw a faint dark smudge slowly appear on her mothers throat. The assassins must have noticed her wide eyes because they turned their attention back to her mother.

The two made eye contact briefly and the closer one drew a dagger from inside her skirts.

All at once Rinoa's world slowed down. She had the felt herself reaching for her mother as if both of there lives depended on it. She heard screaming and felt her captor pulling at her arm trying to restrain her from going to her unconscious mother. There was the glint of steel in the sun as the dark haired assassin over her mother slowly brought the knife to her pale throat. Rinoa focused on that long slender dagger and wished the screaming ringing in her ears would stop. It was making it hard to concentrate on whatever she was doing…

Then suddenly the dagger was in her hand, and something blunt struck her in the head, and everything went dark. At least the piercing screams had stopped, it was the last thing she noticed as she floated down into the fog and the blessed silence. That was when she realized the person screaming had been her.

O.o

A/N: Thank you for reading the first chapter of THE SORCERESS ASSASSIN! Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have, and point out any mistakes i have made since my Beta didn't have a chance to read this before it was posted.