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[attr="class","aurelie_body"]The next day, Aurelie set about shaping the accessory from metal in the same way she would have started crafting a blade. She used the chop saw to cut the sheet of metal to a usable length, turned on the forge, and let the metal heat up inside the forge. When the metal was heated up to temperature, she pulled it out of the forge and hammered it both by hand and using the hydraulic pressing machine. This much felt normal and familiar so far. It was a pleasure to feel the rhythm of the hammer in her hands, to watch the glow of the metal as it cooled from white heat to golden warmth, and to sense the metal slowly moving in accordance with her will.

It helped that it was a larger and simpler piece than most fine jewelry tended to be, with the cuff bracelet design measuring nearly as long as a rather large steak knife and slightly wider. It was also comforting to work with stainless steel for the piece, rather than unfamiliar and finicky precious metals. She remembered the first time she'd tried working with silver—

Her mother had been horrified to see her picking up her blacksmith's forging hammer to strike the fine, delicate silver. She'd scolded her daughter and snatched the hammer out of her hands, replacing it with a jeweler's mallet. "You take after your father!" her mother exclaimed, shaking her head and sighing.

Once Aurelie had roughed out a basic shape for the cuff, making sure to taper it at both ends, the metal had cooled enough that she needed to return it into the forge. While it heated—always a slow process, even for a piece as thin and light as this one would be—she pored over her tools to find what she needed to curve the metal and cut out the setting. It'd been so long since she'd last engraved a setting into a ring or bracelet—

She remembered her little brother, Argentate, showing her how to chisel out a simple setting in which to set gemstones. He was nine years old, and she twelve, yet he lectured and demonstrated the task as confidently as someone three, even four times his age. He took after their mother in looks, with their dark hair and fine features, and skills. She had high hopes for him, Aurelie knew. The very highest.

To achieve the necessary curvature, she used the horn of the anvil, much as she would have to shape a saber or kukri. The cuff was far rounder, though, which needed much more hammering as well as more heat to bend it all the way around into a circle, albeit an open-ended one. Aurelie referred frequently to the measurements of Isaac's arm and wrist to ensure the cuff accessory would fit properly.

"You didn't take enough care with this piece, Aurelie," Argentate told her. "Did you get impatient again? Or lose your temper?" She nodded, shamefaced. He took the mangled-looking bauble to his worktable and patiently unraveled the gnarled metal, straightening it deftly into an elegant shape. He'd saved her again, and she adored him for it, even as she resented needing his help so often.

No, no, this would never do. Aurelie bit her lip, trying to block out the relentless memories. Yet, how could she avoid them entirely, when the past was all the guide she had to the work she needed to do in the present?

She sculpted out a rounded hollow in which to set the keystone for Isaac's Mega Stone, carefully following the dimensions she'd listed on her paper. To complete it, she'd probably need to insert and secure the stone when Isaac brought it with him next time. Pursing her lips, Aurelie added prongs at the corners to hold the stone in place. Then she set off toward the grinder to start the polishing process, repressing a shudder as her safety goggles momentarily slipped down her head—

Her brother had always been fond of pranks and jokes. But she hadn't thought he would pull any mischief on her during something as serious as the competition to see who would inherit their father's workshop! Yet on the morning of the second day of working on her competition piece, an elaborate Kalosian rapier, her safety goggles had been swapped for a pair two sizes too large for her face. It must have been Argentate—who else could have done it? Or would've wanted to do it?

The edges needed to be silken-smooth, so that the accessory would be comfortable to wear and not chafe, rub, or cut the skin. Sweat dripped from her forehead, and she had to stop periodically to mop her brow and readjust her goggles. An unreasoning jolt of panic stabbed through her as her vision misted over while sparks flew from the grinder—

It had been hard work, crafting the rapier, but Aurelie had loved it. And she dearly wanted to defeat her little brother in a contest of skill and technique, which gave her extra motivation. Despite the too-large goggles, she pushed herself to keep going, working longer and harder than she'd ever worked before. But carefully, always carefully.

Her hands were starting to shake again. Aurelie had to put down the half-finished accessory, gripping the edge of the table. Even now, a year after, she still couldn't believe what had happened.

She'd been hammering hard at the blade to forge it to shape, when she'd suddenly frozen in place, certain she'd caught sight of Argentate's Sableye out of the corner of her eye. Those glittering eyes on that dark-purple head were unmistakable. She was sure she'd seen it, brief though the glimpse had been. But what could it be doing here while she was working? She'd shaken her head and continued hammering. One strike landed a little too hard along the blade, and hot metal splinters shot out, much to Aurelie's dismay.

She'd twisted instinctively to avoid the shower of sparks and splinters, and it should've missed her. But then she felt a push from tiny, clawed hands in the middle of her back, shoving her forward, powerfully forward. At that moment, the oversized goggles slid down her face, just as she herself fell forward toward the anvil, while red-hot metal splinters shot toward the right side of her face...

Was there any pain like that burning, cutting agony? Had anyone ever screamed so loud? Would she ever forget it, despite all her best efforts to leave the past behind?

Aurelie clutched at her right eye, covered with both well-fitted safety goggles and her ever-present eyepatch, gasping for breath at the memory of that agony and terror. Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. She sank down to the floor, letting the accessory slowly roll from her grasp. How could he? she thought for the thousandth time. Why would he hurt me like that? My eye!

The doctors had told her over and over how lucky she'd been to keep her eye, to have ended up only with extensive scarring and burning, how no splinters had made their way underneath her skin and gotten infected or worse. But she had not felt lucky. She had felt betrayed, and anguished, and hurt, and alone, and utterly furious. She had loved and admired her brother so much, and he did this! He'd scarred her for life, and he'd broken her heart.

No more work happened that day. Only more crying, more questions asked, and more silence when she hoped for answers. If anyone had walked in and seen her, they might have thought her ridiculous for staying curled up on the floor, holding her hands over her eyes, shuddering and rocking back and forth like a small child for hours on end. But thankfully, no one saw her, and eventually she dozed off into something like sleep.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]The sound of her cell phone ringing cut through Aurelie's daze like an alarm clock in the morning: a sudden, shocking, not entirely welcome, yet utterly necessary and essential sound to hear if she wanted to get moving and do something with the rest of her day. Loud and insistent, her ringtone pierced the dark, murky fog of memories and emotions swirling in her mind like a sword through silk, drawing her back to consciousness. The red-haired smith managed to lift her head and glance at the clock, which signified that several hours had passed since she'd stopped working and dropped to the ground. With a horrified gasp, she jerked upright and grabbed her phone.

Aurelie let out a faint groan when she saw it was Isaac calling, hating that she hadn't made better progress. But she cleared her throat, which had gone dry after so many hours without hydration, and answered. "Hey, Isaac, I'm about halfway done with your— Wait, pick up your what?" She fell silent, her sheepishness forgotten as she listened incredulously to Isaac's question.

"You left your wallet here? Oh my God! How did we both miss that?" Aurelie shook her head in disbelief, unable to keep from smiling slightly at the ridiculousness of the situation. Just being able to smile about something helped lift her melancholy a little. "You know what, I'll look for it and bring it over myself. I need a break and some fresh air, anyway."

She scrambled to her feet and rushed through the door separating the forge from the shop. When she spotted the wallet on the floor, she sighed with relief . "I see it! Thank God, you dropped it behind the desk while you were paying. I hate to think that someone might've come in afterward and grabbed up your money." Swooping down, Aurelie picked it up, opened it quickly to check that it was Isaac's, and nodded. "Okay, what restaurant are you at? Oh! Uh-huh, uh-huh, I know that place. They're amazing! Did you try their tuna, shrimp, and squid roll?"

Aurelie nodded again, forgetting he couldn't see her. "Yeah, no problem. Oh, and uh, thanks for calling." She hung up, truly grateful for his phone call snapping her out of her little trauma fugue state.

Pulling off her leather smithing apron, she headed outside and caught a cab to the restaurant where Isaac had found himself rich in food but poor in payment for his meal. The aromas of delicious food and drink further energized her and lifted her dark mood. She found Isaac at a table near the back next to a snoozing pile of sated-looking Pokemon, his expression embarrassed enough for all of them.

"Here you go!" she exclaimed, glad to have gotten to him in time. She looked around at their surroundings fondly. "One of the chefs who works here, Hayashi-san, was the second or third customer since I opened up my workshop here. I love coming here when I can afford it and getting a huge platter of all my favorites."

Smoothing her rumpled hair, she rubbed her sandy-feeling eyes and smiled at Isaac. "By the way, I'm making reasonable progress on your accessory. It should be done tomorrow afternoon, so come by the shop then and bring your keystone with you so I can put it in the setting. Take care, and, well, thanks again for your call."

She waved goodbye to him and departed as the restaurant manager approached the table. Feeling better for the warmth of the sun on her face and the smell of fresh air clearing away her unhappy thoughts, Aurelie returned to her forge and went back to work. This time, she took care to pause and go outside if past memories threatened to overwhelm her, whether to take a walk or care for her garden, and only resume her work after she'd calmed down. It helped, at least, and that was good enough for now.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Too focused on getting back to her workshop and finishing up Isaac's accessory, Aurelie never heard him call out to her or place an extra order with the restaurant. However, once Isaac paid for his meal in full and threw in a generous tip on top, the haughty restaurant manager softened his stance enough to dispatch a waiter to wrap up the plate Isaac ordered and catch up to Aurelie before she made it too far outside. The red-haired smith effusively texted, "Thank you! Thanks so much for the food! Yum!" to Isaac for the unexpected food, feeling deeply touched by the kind gesture.

And whether it was the purgative effect of receiving Isaac's thoughtful gift, devouring some delicious food after hours of not eating, or just remembering to pace herself and literally touch grass when she needed to, the weight of Aurelie's memories grew easier to bear. Not that her efforts to remember jewelry-making techniques ever stopped bringing up painful, or painfully sweet, memories of her mother and brother, but Aurelie was much better prepared against being ambushed or overwhelmed by them this time. Perhaps it was because she'd already faced the worst of the trauma—the memories of the injury and betrayal by a loved one—or perhaps just being more mindful was enough to help.

She continued working the rest of the day on hammering and sculpting the accessory into its gauntlet-like shape. Late into the night, she was still in the forge, trying to make up for the time she'd lost. Slowly and methodically, she worked on etching the diamond-shaped scales and decorative rivets into the metal's surface with a Dremel tool to emphasize its armor-like appearance. For this step, she proceeded carefully and deliberately, knowing that if she made a mistake, she might have to start all over again with the forging process. An important part of any accessory was that it had to look right, so she definitely didn't want to mess up its looks.

And she didn't. Aurelie finished the engraving process and stepped back, satisfied with the results. She went to bed that night dreaming of accessories, Mega Stones, and her little brother making his first piece of jewelry as a child.

The next day, the red-haired smith focused on polishing the accessory using the power grinder and by hand until it gleamed with a mirror-like sheen. She also refined the setting for the keystone and smoothed out all the contours of the accessory's interior and open ends. Internally, Aurelie marveled that she had turned it around as quickly as she had, especially with the time she'd lost; perhaps she wasn't as rusty as she'd feared.

By late afternoon, she texted Isaac, "Accessory is ready! Come to my shop and bring your keystone for setting." Aurelie went to the front desk of her shop to wait and attend to business, setting the accessory on the counter. When he came, she would thank him again for the food and the timely phone call and ask him to try on the accessory, in case there were any adjustments that still needed to be made.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]There were violet shadows under Aurelie's eyes and a weary slump to her shoulders from working long into the evening and early in the morning to finish the accessory. Still, she held her head high and flashed a welcoming smile at Isaac as he came back into her shop. Her eye widened slightly in surprise at the sight of his impressive entourage of Steel types clustered just outside the door, but she quickly cleared her throat and focused her attention on him.

"Hey, Isaac!" she replied, her face lighting up at his evident excitement and eagerness. Picking up the accessory, she laid it in front of him on the counter for inspection. "I'm doing pretty well, thanks for asking. Like I said, the work should be done on your accessory. Take a look at it, and try it on for fit!"

The red-haired smith watched alertly as he positioned the open end of the cuff-like accessory against the side of his wrist and slid it on. She nodded with approval. "Yeah, be careful to slide it on instead of forcing the open ends apart, pushing it into place, and then pulling the open ends together," she cautioned him. "Stainless steel is pretty durable and has some flex, but doing that repeatedly will stress the metal and cause it to snap eventually."

After he pointed out a few places where the cuff fit too tightly or chafed his arm, she nodded attentively and held out her hand. "Thanks! Okay, I can make a few adjustments after I set in your keystone."

Aurelie couldn't helping smirking a little as she added, "You can come with me and supervise the work, just to make sure I don't try any funny business with your keystone. Your friends outside will unfortunately miss out on the 'show', such as it is." She glanced again out the front window at the clustered Steel types outside watching them and shook her head wryly.

Taking the cuff and keystone, she beckoned him to follow her inside her forge. It was a large, high-ceilinged room with two sets of propane forges and anvils, as well as several worktables and shelves holding different machines and boxes of materials. A broad window let in the last of the afternoon light, glinting dully on a quenching tank full of oil. Aurelie led Isaac over to a worktable near the side, where she fastened on a pair of clear safety goggles, obsessively adjusting and correcting them for several seconds until she was certain that the goggles fit perfectly and wouldn't slip.

"Here's your pair," she added, handing a spare set of goggles to Isaac, "just in case of any sparks or other issues. You can stand a few feet over there." She waved one hand toward a relatively empty corner. " So first, I'm going to set in your keystone here into the accessory. The setting is pretty basic, since, well, I'm really not much of a jeweler, but it should hold the stone securely."

Unashamedly, she dabbed a layer of epoxy along the bottom of the keystone before placing it securely into the setting atop the accessory. Then she reached for a small acetylene torch, which shot out a tip of brilliant blue-white flame, and turned the flame to the tiny claw prongs at the corners of the setting. Once the prongs were heated enough to be malleable, she carefully rapped at them with a small hammer, only slightly larger than a jeweler's mallet, until they were bent inward to grip the keystone tightly in place.

Then, while the setting cooled, she headed over to the other side of the forge where the power grinders and sanders were located. With Isaac trailing after her, she got to work on smoothing out the last few hot spots and trouble areas that could cause discomfort or pain when wearing the cuff. When all of them were dealt with to her satisfaction, Aurelie held the accessory in her hands for a few moments, reflecting on the process of creating it in the past two days.

Well, it wasn't a blade, but really, it wasn't that—well, most of the process—well, the actual making of this accessory wasn't that bad. Of course, she added hastily in her mind, I didn't venture that far from the techniques I usually use for blades. But still, if I can avoid, well, collapsing into a sobbing heap every time, maybe I can accept more commissions like this that aren't about bladesmithing—at least, on a case-by-case basis, anyway.

The thought brought a smile to her face. Standing in her forge, Aurelie turned to Isaac and held out the stainless-steel cuff accessory with a look of pride and satisfaction on her features, inviting him to claim it for his on. "And here you are, at last," she said warmly. "One mega accessory for you, as promised. Hopefully, this accessory won't seem too much like a scam!"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]As impressive as Isaac's Aggron had been before when released in her shop, it didn't entirely prepare Aurelie for the reappearance of the surprisingly courteous and poised Aggron, followed by a spectacular Mega Evolution right there in her forge. Her mouth fell open and her uncovered eye widened as she watched the man and his Pokemon gather and unleash an outpouring of rainbow-hued energy from the keystone she'd just set into the cuff with mundanities like epoxy and claw prongs. The evolution process was absolutely breathtaking and mind-blowing to watch, illuminating Isaac in a brilliant white glow that made him look positively heroic and celestial, while the Mega Aggron loomed in her mighty armor like a veritable steel-clad living tank.

When it was all over, Aurelie spontaneously broke into a round of applause. "That was incredible! Wonderful! And kind of a relief," she exclaimed, tearing her eyes away from the imposing Mega Aggron to look toward Isaac's wrist.

The stainless-steel cuff still crackled with vestiges of energy, but it seemed perfectly able to contain and channel all that power for now, and it did look less unwieldy than the stone bracelet. She let out a sigh of relief and flashed a grateful smile first at Isaac and then the Aggron. "Talk about getting to see my products put to use. That was the best display I've ever seen!"

She looked back and forth from the door to the Aggron and chuckled. "Just be careful to, uh, duck and pull in your shoulders," Aurelie laughingly told the Aggron as she led both of them back into the shop out front. The other Steel types clustered outside all celebrated in their own fashion as Isaac and the Mega Aggron came into view.

The red-haired smith turned toward Isaac and smiled at him with heartfelt sincerity. "I'm glad you both seem happy with the new accessory. Thank you for this commission; it was definitely an…interesting challenge in a lot of ways." A variety of expressions flickered across her features for a moment, as she thought about the flood of repressed memories that the crafting process had unleashed but also about the look of satisfaction and gladness on Isaac's face and the praise that he'd showered on her work.

"But it was a worthwhile challenge in every way, and I hope the result is worthwhile for you," she went on at last. She patted Isaac gently on the shoulder and added, "It was good seeing you again, Isaac, and thanks again for the commission. Take care of yourself. And hey, if you and your Aggron beat someone up in a Pokemon battle together, send some good energy my way!"

Both of them glowed now as they said their goodbyes and thank-yous to each other—he with a sense of achievement and attainment, she with a warm feeling of accomplishment and finality. It really had been a very good commission, in the end. If the process of getting here had put them both through the wringer in different ways, whether in dark tombs or darker memories, well, sometimes the old cliché was right: The darkest nights were what led to the brightest tomorrows.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT