Sneezy's limp improved under Doc's care to the point where a person wouldn't have known he was bitten, and though he had faint scars, he fully recovered. Time passed and soon the cold weather really set in. The days were shorter and the nights were longer, meaning that they had more time to rest. During the day, the Dwarfs hiked to a forge a mile from the cottage to forge various types of jewelry. Grumpy refused to forge anything, flinching away from the heat as his shoulder burned, though he did listen and watch with rapt attention as the Dwarfs worked in the sweltering building, crafting beautiful items with gemstones and purified gold and silver.

The short days in the forge were contrasted by long evenings of sitting in front of the fire. Now there were two storytellers to listen to. Sleepy told fantastic stories of Dwarfs and their adventures, while Grumpy, having grown up solely around humans, told human tales that none of the Dwarfs had ever heard before. Sleepy wanted to hear them all again and again, building up his collection of stories with feverish passion. Grumpy feigned irritation, but he was secretly pleased to have an audience, a fact which Bashful was very aware of and the others had inklings about.

One evening, while sitting around the fire after supper, Doc opened a trunk and passed out wrapped items to his brothers. Dopey was the only one who didn't get one, but he didn't seem surprised. The five older Dwarfs carefully unwrapped the cloths to reveal the most exquisite treasures Grumpy had ever seen. The gems and gold and silver shimmered in the firelight and he watched as the brothers carefully began to clean the items. For a moment, he felt as if he was intruding on a private moment as he saw the mingled looks of reverence and sorrow on their faces. He had half a mind to slink up to bed and leave them to their tasks when Sneezy caught his eye.

"Perty, ain't they?" he asked.

"Mmhm." Grumpy couldn't help but stare at the delicate bracelet in his hands.

Sneezy held it out. "Whaddya a think?"

"Eh?" Grumpy gazed at it and answered without even thinking. "Dwarf made, pure gold, set with sixteen flawless rubies, each half a carat."

Sneezy's mouth fell open, and the others gazed at him in astonishment. They all were well used to his ability with gemstones, but they had never seen him observe a fine piece of jewelry before. His accuracy was actually a bit scary.

"Golly, that's amazin'," Bashful said. He held out the necklace in his hands. "Can ya do this 'un?"

Grumpy looked at it for a couple of seconds then spoke again. "Dwarf made. Made of pure silver and gold, embedded with sapphires 'round the chain. Drops into a flawless white opal set in moulded gold." He paused and hesitated. "But that one's busted."

Doc made a strangled noise. "You can tell that?" he asked, an odd note in his voice.

The other brothers looked concerned as they peered at him. Grumpy became aware that he was treading near something very delicate, and it wasn't the broken pendant.

"Yeah. I can." He cleared his throat, looking away from Doc's intense gaze. "It's missin' an opal."

Doc stared at the necklace then looked away and headed up the stairs without a word. Grumpy was suddenly afraid that he'd somehow offended him. He looked around to see sad faces.

"I didn't mean nothin'," he said in a small voice.

"We know. It jest hurts him ta think about why it's broken," Bashful sighed.

"Does it hafta do with yer folks?" Grumpy asked faintly.

"Naw. With our brother," Sneezy said.

Grumpy paused. "Ya mentioned once that ya lost a brother. What happened?"

There was silence then Bashful grasped the opal in his palm and turned it over to reveal the missing piece. "We don't really know how it happened. Doc never could tell us. Mama and Papa had gone ta see the doctor cuz a me. She was almost due, and she was afraid sommit was wrong cuz I was kickin' hard. They left Doc with our brother and when they came back, they found Doc by the river, clinging on ta this, soppin' wet and sobbin' that our brother had drowned. They never got more outta him than that he went under the water and never came up. How they got ta the river, we never found out. Mama and Papa got the neighbors tagether, and they found our brother's fav'rite blanket caught downstream, all muddy 'n' torn. Doc ain't never been the same since. Mama told me that after that, Doc started mixin' up his words."

Grumpy grew cold at the story. To have lost a brother so young must have been terrible. He suddenly understood Doc's intense need to make sure that his brothers were alright. Grumpy felt a warm rush spread through the cold as he recognized that Doc was giving him the same kind of attention as he gave his brothers. He was becoming part of the family, at least in Doc's eyes.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Grumpy finally asked as he looked up at the bedroom door.

"I'll check on him soon if he don't come down," Bashful assured him.

Dopey tugged on his sleeve and Grumpy looked down. "Whaddya want?"

Dopey pointed at Happy's hands and peered at him expectantly.

"If'n they don't mind. I can do that."

It took the brothers a moment to recognize what Dopey wanted, but when Dopey went over and gently grabbed Happy's wrists and guided him over, they understood that he wanted to hear Grumpy analyze the rest of the treasures. Happy held up a ring, and Grumpy studied it for a few moments.

"Dwarf made. Pure gold. Set with a two carat, flawless emerald."

Happy laughed. "That sure is nifty how ya can do that," he praised.

"What about mine?" Sleepy asked, holding out his treasure, another ring.

"Dwarf made. Pure silver. Set with a two carat, flawless ruby." He sat back. "Where'd ya get 'em?"

"Papa made them," Bashful said, pride in his voice. "He made all of our treasures. He passed 'em down when we gots old enough ta 'preciate 'em. He'da done the same fer Dopey, even had what he wanted ta make all sketched out, but he and mama died right after he was born."

"That was a hard winter," Sneezy said grimly. "Nobody knew we was alone yet. Uncle and Aunty didn't come til spring. They was horrified when they saw us near starved ta death."

"What happened to 'em?" Grumpy asked.

"A witch cursed 'em," Happy said, scowling.

"Why was they cursed?"

"Somethin' 'bout them messin' with her and her customers. Papa always said magic's fer bad people who don't wanna make a decent livin', and he weren't shy 'bout tellin' people that. So she cursed 'em. Didn't find out 'til after they died. Uncle told us."

A deeper chill went through Grumpy as he became very aware that he would definitely be unwelcome if they knew of his magic, and as his emotions spiked, the fire suddenly roared fiercely. The brothers all jumped up with cries of alarm as the fire spat and danced almost to the point of coming out of the fireplace. At once, Grumpy snapped off the magic that had poured from him unexpectedly, and the fire died down. That wasn't good. He needed to use his magic. He'd been neglecting it lately, and the magic pulsed through him with his heartbeat, angry at being contained. He tried to calm down, knowing from what he'd just heard that none of the brothers, with the possible exception of Dopey, liked magic in any way, shape, or form. And now it was even clearer why they despised it. So much so that Grumpy was even more afraid to tell them about the magic that made up such a large part of himself.

Doc's tired voice floated down to them. "What happened?"

"Eh, fire spooked us," Sneezy said.

"Musta been a log breakin' apart. Or somethin'," Bashful said, though he and the others looked properly puzzled as they stared into the fireplace.

Doc nodded and came down the stairs. His eyes were red, and he was toying with something in his hands. Grumpy looked over to see glinting gold and silver. It was the last of the five treasures, the only one he hadn't seen. He didn't dare ask as Doc seated himself before the fire and picked up a polishing rag. Dopey walked over and tugged on his shirt. Doc looked over.

"Yes?"

Dopey pointed at the treasure then at Grumpy.

Grumpy flushed. "Dopey, leave him be."

Doc blinked at his littlest brother then held up a pocket watch. "What do you think?"

The shining metal was impossible to look away from. "Pure gold and silver, set with flawless black diamonds, each half a carat," he said quietly.

Doc smiled and handed it to Dopey. He carried it over and held it out to Grumpy, who balked. "Naw. Thanks."

"It's fine. Go on. Open it. I think you'll find there's more," Doc said, a soft look on his face as he smiled.

Grumpy hesitated then held out his palms, and Dopey carefully set the watch in them. His senses were flooded with facts about the treasure as soon as it touched his skin, and he caressed it gently, aware of his magic pulsing through it. He finally clicked open the front cover to see the flawless crystal face and tiny shards of colored crystal that made up the numbers and hands.

"Wow," he breathed.

He could tell how much time and care went into each detail, and it was astonishing.

He looked up. "Gears are made a diamond, ain't they?"

The brothers were surprised once again, and they wondered how he knew that. Bashful figured it out first.

"Ya know that from touchin' it, don'tcha?" he asked in awe.

The brothers straightened as they realized that throughout all the time they'd known him, Grumpy rarely touched the gems they worked with. He didn't need to touch them to see the flaws, and he never took a turn at the table, despite his natural gift. The only time he touched them was when he was pulling them out of the earth.

Grumpy suddenly looked wary. "Yeah…"

"Jest surprisin', that's all," Bashful said quickly.

Grumpy studied the watch carefully then handed it back to Dopey. "Mighty perty," was all he said.

The brothers carefully cleaned and polished the treasures, and Doc wound his watch, then they were stored away.

"Gonna hafta bring 'em inta town when Uncle comes down this spring ta Castell," Bashful said to Doc. "Ya know he likes ta—"

"No!"

Grumpy hadn't even registered he'd spoken until the brothers whirled around to look at him. The tone and pitch of his shout had startled them far more than anything Grumpy had ever said. He sounded panicked.

"What? Whyever not?" Doc asked.

Grumpy shook his head, looking uneasy and reluctant. "Not next spring."

"Of course next spring!" Doc said, adjusting his spectacles. "Unless you can give us a reason why we shouldn't."

Grumpy bit his bottom lip and looked into the fire. He knew it wasn't a good idea to take them in the spring, not to Castell. He'd been casing the town, and that had been the one he'd been fleeing from when he'd been so badly injured. He knew that the woman who raised him, the head of the thieves and underground world in their kingdom, was planning on sending thieves into the town in early spring to steal as many valuables as possible from the thriving market trade. And he couldn't let those treasures be stolen. But he also couldn't bear admitting that he was a thief, and if he told them, they'd want to know how he knew.

"Jest don't feel right," Grumpy muttered.

"How do ya figger that?" Sneezy asked.

Grumpy hesitated, thinking fast. "My corns hurt. That always means trouble."

The brothers looked puzzled but shrugged. "It'll be fine. Nobody will even stare, erm, care about them once they see the ones we're smelling, um, selling. We don't flash them around. It's just for family," Doc said.

Grumpy grunted, but he was uneasy. Perhaps he could put a spell on them come spring, to protect them from thieves. He thought of the reverent, sorrowful faces of the brothers as they handled the treasures and decided that he would protect them and their treasures for as long as he could.

"I think I'll get a bit of fresh air," Grumpy said, standing up.

Before they really registered what he'd said, he'd snagged a cloak and headed outside into the biting winter night. The sharp scent of cold meant more snow would be coming soon. Snow already lay piled around the clearing where the cottage was built, and Grumpy let the magic seep out. Lifting his foot, he placed it on the top of the snow and didn't fall through. He took a deep breath and relaxed his control then raced into the night and let his magic balloon behind him as he circled the cottage. He stopped when he got back where he'd started then placed his feet into the footprints and stood there, taking in the night. He could feel the magic bubble he'd created, and only he and the Dwarfs could get through without it alerting him. That way he'd have time if something came up.

The door opened behind him, and Doc stepped out. "You okay?"

Grumpy grunted. The magic in his blood was settled now, and he felt safer than before. Doc stepped out with him.

"It's cold. You'll get sick," he prompted gently.

Grumpy nodded then turned and gave Doc a fierce hug. It was over in a blink and Grumpy walked back inside, leaving Doc standing stunned in the cold. He turned after a few seconds and went back inside, wondering about Grumpy and his strange ways.