Grumpy awoke to wood creaking, and he blinked his eyes to see Snow slipping down the stairs. She looked around curiously at the strange choices the Dwarfs had made for their beds then saw Grumpy staring at her. She stopped and smiled, and he scowled and pushed himself out of the cooking pot. He cringed as he stretched, and guilt crossed her features, but he waved away her concerned look and walked over to the door. She followed, cautious but interested. Grumpy was astounded by how early it was. Dawn was barely cracking the horizon, and he rubbed his eyes tiredly. As soon as the door was shut behind them, he spoke.

"What in tarnation are ya doin' up this early?" he complained.

Snow shifted and looked away. She could see several early morning songbirds peering at her. They eyed Grumpy warily.

"They're scared of you," she said, ignoring the question.

Grumpy grunted, hesitated for a moment, then reached up and drew his fingers over his ears and across his mouth. Green sparkles shimmered in the early morning air, and Snow gazed in fascinated wonder as he looked up at the animals.

"I ain't gonna hurt ya," he said firmly, crossing his arms. "T'others might, but I gots no reason ta. Come on and fawn over her."

At once the birds flapped their wings and came to settle on Snow's shoulders, twittering excitedly.

"Good morning to you, too," she said brightly. "This is Grumpy."

The birds fluttered around him, and he didn't move, a dour expression on his face. Snow wilted a little when he didn't appear to be inclined to join in with the birds' game.

"So why are ya up so early?" Grumpy repeated.

"Oh, I've always been an early riser," Snow said, but she wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Mmhm."

Grumpy could see that she was shy about the reason she was awake so early, so he didn't push. He waved away a young bird, which was still twittering around his head.

"Quit that," he said. "Ain't gonna play with ya. Gots stuff to do."

And he turned and began to walk out toward the edge of the clearing. He figured Snow would follow, with natural curiosity driving her of course, and she didn't disappoint him. He stopped just out of view of the cottage and looked around. Snow followed, then she turned around and shivered, squinting behind them.

"Do you feel that?" she asked.

"Mmhm," Grumpy replied.

"What is it?"

"Protective spell," he replied. "Gonna cast a new one. Gots ta include you in it. Else ya won't be able ta get back in."

Snow blinked. "Is that why it felt so strange to get near the cottage?"

"Mmhm," Grumpy said. "Usually ya wouldn'ta been able ta get in at all. Count yer lucky stars I forgot ta reinforce it."

Snow nodded and watched as more green sparks flew from his fingers. A shining bubble became clear to her eyes, as pretty and perfect as a soap bubble, and she reached over and touched it. Grumpy jumped at the nasty shock and looked at her, but he didn't scold her. She had clearly never seen anybody do natural magic before. Her own magic was unnaturally underdeveloped for her age, and he could see hesitation in her eyes. She had a lot to learn, and Grumpy knew that he was the first person who had ever found out about her magic who was in any way able to teach her. He knew he'd have quite the time, but he didn't mind. If she was going to stay—and he knew he'd never be able to kick her out since she had no place to go—then she had to learn to control it.

"That's quite the trick," she said, a bright smile on her face.

"Mmhm. Stop touchin' it. Gotta weave the spell," Grumpy said.

At once, she drew her hand back and clasped both of them in front of her. Grumpy saw something skittish in her eyes, but he didn't pry. Instead, he turned and began to weave another protection spell, adding Snow to the list of those who wouldn't set it off. He also remembered to add threads of magic that would tell him when intruders would leave. Not a word left his lips as the bubble grew brighter and firmer. Snow watched with interest on her face as sparks dripped from Grumpy's hands and disappeared before reaching the forest floor.

After ten minutes, he lowered his hands and stared at the bubble.

"Touch it," he ordered.

Snow looked startled. "Whatever for?"

"Feel the differ'nce."

Snow obeyed, and instantly she could tell that the spell was almost overwhelmingly strong. She never, ever would have been able to get through the day before had it been like this. She knew then that she was very, very lucky indeed that Grumpy had forgotten to refresh the spell.

"Feel it?"

"Yes," she said softly.

Grumpy nodded then started walking around outside the bubble, trailing his hand over the surface. Snow followed.

"What are you doing now?"

"Checkin' ta make sure it's solid. Sometimes there's weaker spots," Grumpy replied. "Do what I'm doin'. Tell me if it ain't right."

Again, Snow obeyed. The bubble was no longer soft and pliable, but as solid as stone. As they walked around the bubble, Snow wondered about Grumpy. She still didn't think he liked her very much, which concerned her. If he didn't like her, then he might send her away. As she pondered what she could do to change his mind, her fingers suddenly found a spot that was a bit pliable, and she stopped.

"Oh!"

Grumpy turned to look at her, and she pointed to the section. He nodded. "Wondered if ya'd feel that."

"You did?"

"Mmhm."

He strengthened the weak section then they continued around the bubble. Snow noted two other weak sections, which Grumpy reinforced, before they got back to where they'd started. Grumpy removed his hand, and the bubble faded until it was almost invisible. But Snow could still see it.

"Don't they wonder about it?" Snow asked.

"Eh?"

"The bubble."

"They cain't see it. Ain't gots no magic. Cain't sense it neither."

"Is that how you've kept it secret?" Grumpy gazed at her, and she flushed. "I assume it's secret."

"They don't know," he said evenly. "An' I'd like ta keep it that way."

"But how do they not know?" she asked.

"I ain't never told them."

"But I thought… Aren't they your brothers?"

Grumpy was stunned at this assessment and he squinted up at her. "What makes ya say that?"

"Oh, the way they teased you last night. Dropping you into the water trough. Tying ribbons in your beard." Snow couldn't hide an amused smile. "The stable boys would always do things like that to each other."

Grumpy's face burned at the memory and he looked away. "I ain't their brother. They's all brothers though."

"Really?"

"Mmhm."

"Well, they love you very much."

"They shouldn't," Grumpy said at once. "Ain't nothin' but trouble."

"Why do you say that?"

Grumpy stared at the forest floor. "Magic is fer bad people," he said gruffly.

Snow's heart ached. She understood his pain and secrecy with that one sentence. Still, she had to say something. "I don't think you're bad."

Hazy memories of the most precious of treasures being handed to a black market dealer flashed through his mind. "Ya don't know that."

"Grumpy? Snow White? Are you out here?" Doc called from the house.

"Better get back afore they come out after us," Grumpy said.

They turned and walked through the spell to the clearing. Snow followed, fascinated by the feeling of magic washing over her as she stepped through. Doc spotted them and beamed from the yard. Grumpy sent an angry look his way, and Doc flinched back and lowered his head.

"They were only teasing," Snow said in a soft voice as they walked toward the bridge.

"There's lines ya don't cross, Snow," Grumpy replied. "An' they crossed one."

"At least consider forgiving them," she said. "For me?"

Grumpy rolled his eyes, but he nodded once. She brightened and patted his head as they crossed the bridge. He swatted at her hand, ducking away. She drew back at once, wincing, and Grumpy immediately patted her arm. Bashful, who stood behind Doc, watched this interaction with great curiosity.

"Gonna get the eggs," Grumpy said, picking up the basket and heading around the side of the house. Snow ducked inside and noticed Happy beginning breakfast.

"Oh, let me do that!"

"How 'bout we both do it?" Happy asked, smiling at her.

"Sure. What should we have?"

Doc went over to the corner and sat down, tugging anxiously at his beard. Bashful followed and plopped beside him.

"What's wrong?"

"Last night," Doc muttered, pulling his hat off and twisting it in his hands.

Bashful winced and kicked his feet. "We did take it a bit too far," he admitted. "What can we do?"

"I don't know," Doc admitted. "I guess I was irritated that he was so angry at the princess. He was rude and upset."

"True," Bashful said. "But I don't think it's that surprisin'."

Doc looked up. "You don't?"

"Naw. We don't know much 'bout his life afore he got here, but we do knows he don't trust women."

They both paused as they recalled some of Grumpy's harsh comments to older women in Castell over the years. They had reacted poorly, and it had seemed to solidify Grumpy's belief that women were poison.

"But Snow is just a girl," Doc argued.

"We knows that now. But she's awful grown fer fourteen. I think he just panicked. 'Sides, he's Grumpy. We gave him that name fer a reason. I'm perty sure he's calmed down now."

"What makes you say that?"

Bashful looked up as Snow laughed, and Happy grinned, having apparently said something funny.

"He weren't angry when they headed in. And they went fer a walk this mornin'."

"He seemed angry though… wasn't he?"

Bashful shook his head. "Weren't angry at Snow. He actually made her feel better when she thought he was angry."

Doc looked at his brother with a frown. "I must have missed it. When did he do that?"

"She patted his head," Bashful said.

"Yes…"

"And he batted her away."

"I saw that."

"And she flinched away and looked afraid that she'd insulted him."

"And?"

Bashful smiled, used to explaining nuances of interactions to his brothers. "He patted her arm ta let her know it's alright. An' she settled down and smiled again."

Doc stared at his brother and thought about the interaction. He pictured the scene again, and as he did, he understood the interaction a lot better. It was true, he realized. Grumpy had reassured Snow when she'd cringed away. That was certainly interesting, and it made Doc wonder for the umpteenth time how Grumpy had turned into the Dwarf he was. He was the kindest person Doc had ever met, always freely giving gold and silver to thieves and orphans in the streets of Castell without expecting anything in return. Yet he was also as hard as the stones they chipped away at in the mines. And after ten years, the six of them together had only removed one or two layers. Still, Doc knew there was pure gold in the middle, if only they could get to it. But they were afraid to pry too hard in case they ended up pushing him away.

The door shut, and Grumpy came in and handed the basket of eggs to Snow, not Happy, and he didn't even look at the sunny Dwarf as he tried to smile at him. Happy wilted and turned back to the stove. Sneezy reached for Grumpy, but he sidestepped him and headed for the opposite corner, sitting down on the upside down washtub and crossing his arms as he glared at the room. The brothers all shared a glance then focused on their tasks again. Dopey crept toward Grumpy, but one glower from the Dwarf sent him scurrying for Doc. Grumpy had rarely been this angry and hurt before. It was an absolute miracle that he was still at the house and not camping in the woods. And they all knew it had something to do with Snow's presence.

"How long do you think it'll last?" Doc asked as he embraced his youngest brother.

Bashful shrugged, patting Dopey's back. "We just keep pluggin' away at him. He'll forgive us. Eventually."

Doc thought to himself that it wouldn't happen soon enough.