Serendipity looked at his hand as if she had no idea why he had held it out in her general direction. She adjusted Pozzletot on her shoulder. “Thank you for contemplating my work, Mr.….”

“Cane, Cornelius Cane. But, please, call me Corey. All of my friends do,” he smiled, his hand still waiting for hers.

“Mr. Cane,” Serendipity continued, “but I assure you I am not right for your team. And while I appreciate your consideration, I have neither the desire nor the ability to join you in the North Pole. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have much work to do.”

“But that’s the beauty of joining us,” Corey prodded, finally withdrawing his hand, glancing at it as if he were the one with some sort of unsightly stain before resting it on his hip. “There will be hundreds of elves assigned to your shop, Ms. Fizzlestitch. You’ll be in charge of supervising each of them so every doll is crafted just as you would have designed it yourself, but you won’t be left to labor so intensively all alone. Surely you can see the value in that? With our system, you’ll be able to make thousands and thousands of dolls each year.”

Serendipity was not listening. In fact, she had tuned him out from the moment he had begun to speak. She would let nothing this strangely dressed man claiming to be from the North Pole said persuade her from changing the course she had embarked on so many years ago. Pozzletot squirmed, as if to say she should consider the offer, and she promptly sat him down on the table. He ran toward Corey, apparently seeking a better seat in which to listen, and Serendipity crossed her arms tightly across her chest, feeling both frustration at the visitor and betrayed by her friend. “Mr. Cane, I assure you, there is nothing you can say that will persuade me to leave my home and accompany you--anywhere. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she repeated, “I have much work to do.”

Corey took a deep breath. He seemed to be getting nowhere with this one. Even his charming smile and sparkling eyes had little effect on her. He might have to try another tactic. After all, he had never failed--though it had occasionally taken more than one trip--and he was determined that Serendipity Fizzlestitch would not be his first upset. Besides, she truly would make a remarkable asset to the team. “I’m very sorry to hear that,” he lamented, shaking his head, both hands on his hips now, his red velvet jacket pushed back behind him. “Perhaps you would consider coming north with me for a tour of the facility? Then, if you don’t like it, I’ll bring you home straightaway.”

Serendipity raised one eyebrow, curiosity beginning to get the best of her. She wondered precisely how they would get to the North Pole. Then, realizing what she was thinking, she shook her head, jarring the concept from her mind. She was not going to the North Pole, and she had very little faith that this man was from there or was going there either. “Mr. Cane,” she repeated, this time stepping toward the door. “Thank you so very much for the offer, but again, I am not interested. I am quite happy with my life here in Dunsford.”

Corey dropped his hands to her work table, bending over with a sigh, and Serendipity felt remorseful for a moment, not wanting to disappoint him, or anyone else. However, she was not convinced that this wasn’t some sort of prank, and her resolve to stay put did not waiver. She turned to the door, pulling it open, and then returned her attention to Mr. Cane who was now standing upright with his hands deep inside of his pockets, his head still downcast.

“Well, if you change your mind, please drop us a letter. Simply write North Pole on the envelope and toss it in the fireplace,” he explained as he began to walk briskly to the door. He paused for a second as he passed her by and bowed his head, as if he were tipping a hat, but since he did not wear one atop his spiky hair, the gesture seemed rather odd, and Serendipity wrinkled her forehead again in curiosity, as she nodded her understanding and watched Cornelius Cane glide swiftly out the door. She closed it behind him, glad to be blocking what little sunlight was poking through the clouds and didn’t realize she hadn’t uttered a proper goodbye until he was gone. For a moment, she wondered what form of transportation one might use in transferring to and from the North Pole, and perhaps in answer to her question, she swore she heard the jingle of bells briefly before her world returned to what it had been before the oddly dressed man had entered.

Shrugging her shoulders, Serendipity threw the lock on the door and made her way back to the work station. “Strange fellow,” she muttered in the direction where she had last spied Pozzletot, but her friend was not there. Believing he must have taken refuge in one of these hollows, she surveyed her workspace, made a few more corrections to the disarray Cornelius Cane had caused, and then began working on Maggie Wentworth once again, thoughts of Cornelius and the North Pole pushed out of her mind almost as quickly as he had appeared and disappeared from her life.

Once Corey realized Serendipity would not be easily persuaded to join him, he made a rash decision, choosing to employee the only idea he could think of to ensure she must change her mind and eventually accompany him to the North Pole, at least briefly. He was surprised at first that he was able to carry out his plan without being caught, but once he was free from her lair, he knew she would likely not follow him outside into the rain, not quickly enough anyway, even to retrieve one of her most prized possessions, if she even noticed in time that it was missing. As he guided his shiny silver sleigh, pulled by two of Santa’s finest, at light speed back toward the North Pole, he kept one hand inside of his coat pocket, assuring his passenger would stay safe and warm until he made it to the North Pole. Then, he would let Ms. Fizzlestitch know he had a “stowaway” and the only way she could possibly retrieve her little friend was to pay a visit to the Village. Once he got her there, he was quite certain she would never leave.