The next morning found Grumpy following behind the line of Dwarfs, a pickax over his shoulder. It was a nice walk, and he enjoyed the song as they marched onward, singing joyfully about going off to work. Grumpy didn't sing along, his mind thinking of the past and how different things were for him today. He'd never thought he'd be heading off to work, especially not with Dwarfs, but it made him happy.
When the mine came into view, he slowed down as the others began to set up for the day. Bashful gestured for him to follow, and he led him into the mine before the others. He could feel Sneezy staring at him as he went, and he tried not to care, but he did.
"Doc said that you should see the different things we do, so you can learn 'em," Bashful's said. "Today's minin' the jewels."
"And ignore Sneezy," Happy said, coming in with his pickax over his shoulder. "He'll get used to ya. Now, let's see what Bashful taught ya."
Very aware of the eyes on him, he swallowed and turned to the wall. Bashful nodded encouragingly, and he took a swing. He got the angle wrong and he flushed as the pickax veered off and didn't do much, but Happy didn't laugh at him. Instead he chuckled in a friendly manner and reached over to help him reassess the angle.
"Try there," he said, pointing.
Grumpy tried again and felt a bit better when part of the wall crumbled away.
"That's better," Happy said. "Soon it'll be easy as pie."
Grumpy glanced at him. "I cain't make pie, so's it better be easier."
Happy burst into a merry laugh. "Yer a hoot," he whooped.
"Everything going fell, er, well?" Doc asked, approaching with Sneezy and Sleepy.
"Yep," Happy said.
"Mm," Grumpy grunted.
"Well then let's get to shirk, um, work!" Doc exclaimed, smiling at all of them.
Sneezy and Sleepy went to the other wall and began to work at the stone. Bashful gestured for Grumpy to start then got into his rhythm almost at once. Grumpy took a deep breath then began to work. Happy and Bashful were glad to show him how to extract gemstones from the stone wall, and he worked on filling the mine cart with the others. When it was full, they set down their pickaxes and pushed the cart to the entrance of the mine then worked on emptying it into several wooden crates that sat by the table where Doc was sifting through them.
After the cart was empty, they went back to do it again. Grumpy lost himself in the hard, physical labor, and though he was aching after an hour, he continued on. Time slipped by so quickly that when the clock whistled, he was startled.
"What's that mean?" he asked Bashful.
"Lunch," Happy said, rubbing his hands together. "I packed us meat pies."
"We need to catch us s'more critters. We're runnin' low on meat," Bashful said.
"We'll do that next week. We'll have ta do that soon anyhow fer the winter," Happy said, leading the way out. "We'll have ta smoke some of it."
The sunlight stung Grumpy's eyes as they exited the mine. He blinked rapidly and the world came into focus. Doc was unpacking a large basket and passing around cold meat pies. Grumpy was incredibly hungry, and he took a bite then wandered over to see what Doc had been doing.
He looked at the table, chewing thoughtfully as he took in the setup. The boxes of gemstones they'd filled from the cart two hours before were half full, and he could see some in the stage of being polished. Doc came over, eating his own lunch.
"What do you drink, erm, think?" he asked.
"Whachoo doin' here?"
"Checking the quality," Doc said. He took another bite then called out. "Come here, men!"
They all walked over, jostling and teasing each other with their mouths full of food.
"What?" Happy asked.
"What's wrong with this one?" Doc asked, picking up a shimmering sapphire.
Grumpy watched them handle it one by one, popping the rest of his lunch in his mouth. They seemed confused.
"Well, sommit's definitely wrong," Sleepy said puzzled. He squinted at it.
"But what?" Bashful muttered.
"It's got a crystal flaw," Grumpy said.
Everybody looked at him, their expressions surprised.
"But I looked for that," Doc said, picking up his magnifying eyepiece.
Grumpy shrugged. "Ya wanted ta know what's wrong. It's got a crystal flaw in it. It's in the center there, below the facet."
Sneezy snorted derisively. "How do ya know that? Ya didn't even touch it."
Doc twisted the gem then paused. He took out the eyepiece and looked up at Grumpy, confused.
Grumpy shifted. "What're ya starin' fer?"
"You're right…" Doc murmured.
The others stiffened then looked at Grumpy, their gazes curious.
"No foolin'?" Bashful asked.
"Look for yourself," Doc said, handing over the eyepiece.
Bashful did so, twisting the gem back and forth then popped out the magnifying glass and stared at Grumpy. He passed it to Sleepy, and one by one, the five Dwarfs looked closely at the gemstone only to realize that Grumpy was indeed correct about the flaw.
"How didja do that?" Sleepy asked, blinking at him.
"Do what?" Grumpy asked, scowling and crossing his arms, uncomfortable by their gawking expressions.
"How'd ya know there was a crystal flaw?" Happy asked.
Grumpy was bewildered, squinting at the gemstone. "It's right there. Ya can see the color differ'nce."
They all looked at the gemstone very closely then Sleepy murmured to Doc, who blinked and nodded. He walked over and pulled out several gemstones and set them on the bench.
"Out of curiosity," he said. "Can you spell us, erm, well us, ugh! tell us if anything is wrong with these?"
Grumpy stepped closer and squinted at them. He studied them then spat. "Ruby's got needles on the left side. Em'rald's got carbon down the middle. Sapphire's got some beardin'. Diamond's flawless."
Doc grabbed each gem in turn and looked at them carefully. He blinked and set the last one aside, his eyebrows high. "Right on every one…"
They gazed in wonder at him, and Grumpy tugged nervously on his beard. "Whatsa big deal? Surely ya can tell the bad uns from the good uns."
"'Course we can," Sneezy said, affronted. "Only we gots ta touch 'em. But ya ain't touched a one…"
They continued to stare curiously at him. Grumpy shifted again. "Ain't no big deal."
"Actually, it's a rare gift," Doc said slowly.
"What?"
"To be able ta see all the flaws in a gemstone without touchin' 'em," Bashful said.
"Golly, the last Dwarf that had that gift died ten years ago," Sleepy said, his eyes bright. "Ya've got a once-in-a-generation gift."
After another minute of their eyes latched onto him, he turned away. "Shouldn't we get back ta work?" he asked gruffly.
"Huh? Oh! Oh, yes!" Doc exclaimed, looking at the clock. "Back to work, hen, uh, men."
They headed into the mine and Grumpy quickly went back to work, aware of the curious eyes that peeked at him every once in a while. He was grateful that they couldn't read his thoughts. He had a feeling that the reason he was so gifted at locating flaws was because he needed to know the value of gems before he snatched them. It was a waste of time and energy to steal a flawed gemstone to get a piddly payout. He had become an expert at differentiating good gems from bad gems at a single glance, and that made him feel guilty. He never wanted to tell them that he had been a thief. That would definitely change their opinion of him. Well, except for Sneezy.
When the whistle sounded again in the late afternoon, they packed up their tools and locked up the gems. As Grumpy was passing Doc, Doc stopped him.
"Before we go, could you kelp tea, erm, help me with some of these?" he asked, pointing at a large sack full of gems.
"What fer?" Grumpy asked.
"These are the ones that I know are flawed but can't pinpoint what the claws, urm, flaws are. When we go to quell them, er, sell them, we want to be honest about their value."
Grumpy hesitated then walked over to gaze at them. His eyes took in the shining, sparkling gems and he stared, afraid to touch them. He didn't trust himself with valuables. He wasn't sure they'd want him to touch them anyway.
"Most of 'em are crystal flaws," he murmured.
"Where?" Doc asked, picking up his magnifying glass.
Grumpy explained the location of each flaw and watched as Doc turned the gems in his fingers, noting each one with a nod. The others watched, impressed by Grumpy's ability as Doc found each and every flaw he mentioned without any trouble. When the table was clear, Doc took out the eyepiece and shook his head.
"That's undebtable, ahem, incredible," Doc said, a note of wonder and surprise in his voice.
"Ain't nothin'," Grumpy replied.
"'Tis so," Bashful argued. "None of us can do it, and we've been 'round gems our whole lives."
Grumpy bit his tongue and turned away. Doc sensed that he was embarrassed and called the others to order.
"Dopey!" Doc called. "Come on, Dopey!"
Dopey loped over from where he was looking at small chips of gems, and he held out a small amethyst to Grumpy. Grumpy took it and studied it.
"Good eye, kid," he said then passed it to Doc.
Doc smiled at Dopey. "Time to go foam, erm, home. Ready men?"
They all lined up and Doc started them off. Grumpy marched quietly behind Bashful, thinking over the day. He was incredibly tired, but once again, it was a pleasant kind of tiredness. He was certain he would be sore the next day, but at the moment he didn't care. The dark cottage looked welcoming in the starlight as they tramped over the bridge and up to the door.
When the fire was roaring and dinner was being prepared, Bashful sidled up to Grumpy and smiled. "Ya did good."
"Mm." Grumpy looked away, staring into the fire.
"Didn't ya enjoy it?" Bashful asked.
"Gonna be sore tamarra," Grumpy muttered. "Can hardly lift my arms."
"Aw, that's okay. You'll need ta get used ta minin'," Bashful said, sitting down. "Takes a lot outta ya the first few times. We're like that ev'ry spring fer the first couple weeks."
"So ya don't mine in the winter?" Grumpy asked.
"Oh, no," Sleepy yawned. "We forge then."
"Thought ya said ya didn't make armor…"
There was a burst of friendly laughter from the brothers. Doc adjusted his spectacles and leaned against the table, smiling at Grumpy.
"We don't. We make jewelry," he said.
"Crowns and tiaras and necklaces and brooches," Happy said, spooning up gravy to see if it was thick enough. "Forgin' ain't just armor. We have ta make the gold and silver the best it can be."
"Ev'ry spring we travel and sell our wares," Sleepy said with a pleased smile.
"We'll have ta teach ya how ta forge this winter," Bashful said.
"Don't know 'bout that," Grumpy said softly. "Don't much like hot stuff."
Bashful sat up and frowned. "Why?"
Grumpy rubbed his shoulder and shrugged, but Doc paused, recalling a strange, shiny scar on Grumpy's left shoulder. "Oh…" he said softly.
They all looked up, and Grumpy watched Doc frown.
"Were you…?" he began then gestured at his left shoulder, almost afraid to know the answer.
Grumpy spat into the fire. "Branded?" he asked blandly. "Yep."
The entire room went silent, and all eyes were locked on Grumpy.
"You… were branded?" Happy asked faintly.
Grumpy tugged off his shirt and turned his back on them, and they saw it. A shiny scar that looked like a star on his shoulder. They also noticed lines crisscrossing his entire back, pale against his tanned skin.
"Weren't as bad as the lashin'," Grumpy replied casually as they gaped in horror. "That almost killed me."
Even Sneezy had nothing to say as they stared at the proof of an even harder life than they'd imagined. Grumpy tugged his shirt back on and sat back in his chair, his bright eyes on the fire. Dopey walked over and touched his arm. Grumpy turned to look at him, and Dopey hugged him, squeezing hard. Grumpy pressed his lips together then hugged him back. Dopey looked up and made a gesture, his eyes big and worried.
"Naw, I'm okay. 'Twas a long time ago," he said gruffly.
Dopey smiled, and Doc walked over, unsure of what to say. He finally embraced Grumpy, who stiffened and flushed.
"Hey! Whaddya think yer doin'?"
He fought half-heartedly to get out of the hug, but Doc wouldn't let him go. He finally pulled back and turned away quickly, and Grumpy was startled to see Doc wipe at his eyes then clear his throat
"How's lupper, erm, supper?" he asked.
Happy blinked and turned toward the stove. "Almost done," he said, his voice low and rough.
Grumpy realized with a great deal of surprise that they were all a bit teary after seeing his scars. He wondered at that. Did they really care that much for him? Even Sneezy looked disturbed as he set the table. Grumpy felt a lump in his throat. Nobody had ever cared a bit for him, but these brothers seemed to. He watched as they solemnly put food on the table, their eyes dim. Grumpy was unsure of how to handle this.
"'Twas a long time ago," he repeated into the silence.
"That don't mean it was right," Bashful said, turning to look at him.
Grumpy shifted and shrugged. "It don't mean nothin', really," he said.
"It does ta us," Sleepy murmured.
Dinner that night was subdued and quiet for once, and Grumpy was aware it was because of his scars. He never thought much of them anymore. They no longer hurt, though nightmares sometimes plagued him and he'd wake up to his back on fire, but he never actually had to see them so they weren't ever on his mind. But the sorrowful look on the faces of these Dwarfs made his heart ache pleasantly. As he spooned soup into his mouth, he wondered if this was what being loved felt like. If so, he could get used to it.