Twisting the Pole by Viola Grace Page A

Cora was on her feet and over the workbench in a flash.
    She sprinted after the thief with her skirts kicking up around her legs. She didn’t shout, she simply drew close until she was next to the thief. Without saying a word, she plucked the coronet from the woman’s grip and the startled thief fell.
    The coronet buckled between them, and Cora sighed. “I will have to fix that, you know.”
    The woman in jeans and a t-shirt looked up at her. “How did you catch me in that? ”
    Security was running in, and they were prepared to take her into their care.
    Cora smiled. “It is a matter of practice. If I ever see you near my booth again, you will be on your ass so fast you won’t even have a chance to look around.”
    The security officer handed her a form, so she slipped the coronet over one arm as she filled it out. A minute later, she handed it back with a smile. “Thanks, Antoine the Stunning.”
    He grinned at her with his two gold teeth gleaming in his tanned face. “A pleasure as always, Mistress Metzger.”
    She held up the coronet for him to take a photo and then slipped it back on her arm as she returned to her booth. Several bystanders applauded her as she walked back with a swing in her hips.
    Viv was tearful as Cora sauntered up. “Did you...”
    Cora held up the coronet. “Got it. Will have it fixed by morning.”
    “How did she bend it?”
    “She was holding it when I caught up to her. She went down and tried to take it with her. My grip was stronger, but we pulled it out of shape.”
    The torches were being lit, and it was nearly time to close shop. Cora returned to her workbench, and she held the coronet in her hands. She glanced at Viv.
    Viv suddenly got enthusiastic. “Are you going to do the thing?”
    Cora looked around, turned her back to the walkway where patrons were moving in the distance and she held the coronet up to her lips. With a low, slow breath, she exhaled magic on the metal, and it formed back into its proper shape of woven strands of metal wire in intricate patterns.
    Viv shook her head. “How do you do that?”
    “Practice.” Cora quirked her lips. It was a safe piece of magic to use. Viv was interested in the magic of the natural world, so when Cora hired her, she showed her minor magic, and Viv took to it like a duck to water. She couldn’t properly use it herself, but she respected Cora’s mastery of it.
    By the time Cora and Viv parted ways, the human would know how to bend metal, just a little. It would be Cora’s gift to her for the friendship that she extended.
    She handed the coronet to Viv. “Back on the display.”
    Viv took it and juggled it. “It is still hot.”
    “Bending metal gets it hot.” Cora lit some candles on her worktable and finished the carving on the last of the medallions.
    “I don’t know how you can do that by candlelight.” Viv watched her work.
    How could Cora explain that she had learned how to carve at her father’s knee? She had been going to marry a nice silversmith from the next village and work with her husband. That had been her plan until she turned thirteen and she shifted for the first time. She was lucky that it had just been her and her parents who witnessed the transformation, but her fate had changed in that moment.
    Two days later, a very handsome man with very pale hair and a young woman with a ruby necklace had come to the village. They had knocked on her father’s door, and the man had spoken with her parents. While they talked, the young woman had walked outside with Cora, and they had spoken about life, silver smithing and the future. Cora had outlined her hopes and dreams, and the woman had smiled sadly, asking, “What if your future isn’t yours to choose?”
    “I suppose I will do what my father tells me to.” Her faith in her father had been absolute.
    To her horror, her father gave her to the pretty man, and the young woman turned into her mentor and friend. Her parents got security and health for the rest