she/her
27
December 12
Anistar City, Kalos
Bisexual
Blacksmith, bladesmith
Associate
A keen mind cuts deeper than even the sharpest sword.
TAG WITH @aurelie
Aurelie Lefevre
Ordinary Human Drama [FW2]
POSTED ON Jan 3, 2024 0:44:31 GMT
"Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." When she was released, Aurelie wanted nothing more than to be an ordinary smith again. She'd missed it intensely and dreamed nonstop during her imprisonment of reestablishing the family business, but for herself alone. Just like it was in Hoenn, she thought, remembering the reality that she'd come from like a distant—yet persistent—dream.
Just like in Hoenn, she knew she would need a lot of startup capital to set herself up. In the real world, Aurelie had obtained it only by joining Rocket. But that had been in Hoenn, where she was a stranger, whereas in Kalos, her family's names and accomplishments were widely known. Surely, in this timeline, she shouldn't have any problem finding willing investors.
Oh, how wrong she was.
Unfortunately, because the Lefevre family as a whole was well-known, her own family's disgrace and financial collapse was also common knowledge. Apparently, none of the forges run by Aurelie's aunts, uncles, and cousins in Lumiose City, Shalour City, or Couriway Town needed an extra pair of skilled, experienced, reliable hands. Nor did their homes have any room for her, despite her poverty.
Despite her anger and outrage, Aurelie could hear it in their voices and read between the lines of their messages. With the taint of illegal drugs, smuggling, and misfortune hanging over her, she might chase off clients or bring bad luck to their workshops. Metalsmiths had their own superstitions—and could she blame them, when she whispered a prayer to Arceus and Heatran every time she quenched a blade?
It was the same with her steadiest, most faithful customers before her imprisonment, the banks she approached for loans, and the vendors who'd worked with her family for years. In desperation, Aurelie turned to updating her resumé for the first time in years and applying for work as a materials engineer or metallurgist. Everyone rejected her. She found herself staring at the possibility of working at Dairy Vespiqueen or Sawsbucks, the only places that might probably accept her.
Then, one day, she remembered the more dubious clients who'd commissioned weapons from her in those last weeks before her arrest. At this point, Aurelie was willing to grasp at even the slenderest thread of hope, the faintest chance. She cautiously reached out to the most recent client, the one with the most extensive commission, whom she remembered the most clearly: Lisa Bortiforte, whom she had recognized immediately from the real world as Elisabeth Fiorelli.
To her shock and gratitude, she was actually able to make an appointment to meet with her.
Lady Bortiforte received Aurelie in her exquisitely appointed corner office at Bortiforte Industries. The red-haired smith couldn't help feeling gawky and out-of-place amid the graceful, fragile, yet businesslike furniture: an elegant mahogany escritoire with dozens of pigeonholes filled with notes and paperwork, a matching chair with gilded ornamentation, a stained-glass lamp, and a dozen irises in a crystal vase. The regal blonde gazed at her over steepled fingers, her emerald eyes narrowed and lips pursed.
"Mademoiselle Lefevre," she said coolly, arching an eyebrow. "I must admit, I hadn't expected to hear from you again. Please accept my sympathies for your family's misfortunes since we last spoke."
Aurelie squeezed her eyes closed for a moment and then nodded, focusing on keeping her balance with her cane. "Thank you, Madame. And please accept my condolences on your loss," she added, recalling her husband's recent death in the news.
Was there a flicker of Lady Bortiforte's eyelids? "Thank you," she replied smoothly. "Well, Mademoiselle Lefevre, you requested an hour of my time. What do you wish to discuss?"
This was Aurelie's chance. She briefly described her current predicament, which drew no reaction from Lady Bortiforte. "And then I remembered your commission. I thought, surely, you might have need of more than a few knobbly poison rings. I would be willing, more than willing, to work as your personal craftsman of weapons, jewelry, tools, whatever you needed. If you ever wanted someone willing to make anything you could ever need from metal, this is your chance."
"Ah," the blond woman said simply. She turned in her chair slightly, and Aurelie was surprised to see a Leafeon on her lap, which she petted absently as she spoke. To Aurelie's dismay, she went on, "I'm afraid I've no need for anyone like that, Mademoiselle Lefevre."
The red-haired smith felt her heart sink. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry to have wasted your time." She started to turn to leave.
"I have not dismissed you yet, Mademoiselle Lefevre," came the swift lash of Lady Bortiforte's retort, her steel-hard tone bringing Aurelie up short. "I have an eye for the...unique. Your rings were fine work. I recognize your expertise and your difficult circumstances.
"What do you know of Bortiforte Industries, Miss Lefevre?"
Aurelie blinked and stammered out an awkward reply, something about security equipment and alarms.
"Close enough, I suppose," the blond woman answered, the corner of her mouth curling upward in faint amusement. "We manufacture sophisticated security solutions for some of the wealthiest and most prestigious companies and organizations in Kalos. Your metallurgical expertise would be valuable for many of the physical systems we deploy to secure critical keys, documents, and Pokemon. Can you design as well as construct, Mademoiselle?"
The redhead eagerly nodded. A ghost of a smile passed briefly across Lady Bortiforte's face. "Very well. Submit your resumé and credentials for a position with our division for lockers, safes, and cages. I promise you'll be considered fairly, despite your record."
With that, Aurelie had to be content, and in all honesty, she was. She did as Lady Bortiforte suggested and was elated when she was accepted. It felt strange reporting in for work her first day, with her new ID badge and key card, but it was a relief as well.
And if it meant Aurelie was working for Elisabeth Fiorelli in this timeline as well as in her own world, well, perhaps that wasn't necessarily such a bad thing?
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