A week later, Snow had just made dinner and was setting it out on the table when it happened. A jerking jolt snapped through Grumpy, and he bolted up and ran for the window. Doc watched him in alarm.

"What's long, erm, wrong?" he asked.

"Snow, get upstairs," Grumpy ordered.

"What? Why?"

"Rowan's here."

Alarm flashed across the Dwarfs' faces, and Snow straightened. "Who?"

"Jeweler we work with. Hurry. Go upstairs."

"But it's Rowan," Sleepy said.

"An' one slip a the tongue is all it takes," Grumpy said. "Hide. I'll make you a plate. Go!"

Snow flew up the stairs and shut the door as Happy opened the front door. Rowan lit up.

"You're home this time!"

"Yep," Doc said. "What brings you dear, um, here so early? You usually come at the start of summer."

"Got a really big order from a rich client," he said. "And they need it in two weeks. I told them I'd check and see if that's realistic."

"Two weeks?" Doc asked, the smile dropping off his face. "How big is this shorter, um, order?"

Grumpy surreptitiously made a plate and hurried it upstairs to Snow, who was sitting on her bed with the curtain drawn. He tapped gently on the wall.

"Gots some food," he said quietly.

"Come on in," Snow said.

Grumpy obeyed and handed her the plate. She smiled but looked down. "What's going on?"

"He has an order for us. Do ya wanna hear what's bein' said?"

Snow took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes."

Grumpy had been teaching her small tricks to use her magic to siphon off the burning energy that seemed to bubble inside of her like boiling soup. She looked at him intently, waiting for instructions.

"Focus on yer ears," Grumpy said. "Make 'em stronger. Guide it with yer fingers," he said. "Like this."

He reached up and drew his fingers over his ears, sharpening his hearing. He nodded at Snow, who raised trembling fingers up and paused. It always took her a few moments to reach her magic. That was something Grumpy was concerned about, since it pointed to how scared she was to use it, but he hadn't pried. Yet. Finally, soft pink sparkles came from the tips of her fingers and danced around her ears. She settled down and paused to see if it worked.

"You have tree signs, uh, designs, I presume," Doc was saying.

"It worked," Snow whispered, awed and pleased by her small act of magic.

Grumpy nodded, and they sat and listened as Doc and the brothers discussed some apparently intricate designs for some expensive jewelry. Snow quietly ate her food, listening as the six Dwarfs downstairs used their expertise to talk to Rowan. After half an hour, there was the rustle of papers and Doc spoke.

"It'll be difficult, but we'll fry, um, try."

"At least workin' in the forge won't be so bad," Sneezy said. "Given it's spring 'n' everythin'."

"True. Summer can be brutal in that heat," Doc agreed.

"Where's Grumpy?" Rowan asked. "I thought I saw him when I came in."

"Ah," Doc said awkwardly.

"He ain't feelin' too well," Happy said. "Jest came down fer a bite ta eat. Ya hungry?"

"I wouldn't mind some food," Rowan said. "I don't suppose I could stay the night?"

Silence. Then Sleepy spoke, sounding nervous and very much alert. "Naw. Gots family comin'. That's why we're home. Gettin' things ready fer 'em. Sorry."

"Ah well. At least I get a meal out of it."

"Are ya safe comin' out here alone?" Bashful asked.

"I've got my magic coin. It's still going strong. Somehow. They told me it would only last for a few years, but when I went in so the woman could refresh the magic, she said it was actually stronger than when she gave it to me. We were both very confused."

Grumpy snorted and smiled. Snow looked at him and spoke quietly. "You refresh it yourself, don't you?" she asked, her lips twitching.

"Mmhm. He's a good man. Least I can do," Grumpy said gruffly.

Snow had noticed quickly how kind Grumpy was beneath his rough and grumpy exterior. During her time of the month, he'd replenished her stock of rags without complaining or announcing it to the others, which she appreciated. Snow was certain that he hadn't even told Doc. He was trustworthy. Well, they all were, and she wasn't used to being able to trust anybody with anything, let alone her very life. But the Dwarfs took her in without complaint (except for Grumpy, but it was a different kind of complaining) and they moved their lives around to fit her in. She couldn't thank them enough for what they'd done. But even with all that, there was something about Grumpy in particular that made her feel safe and understood.

"How do I stop?" Snow asked after blinking out of her thoughts to hear them eating downstairs.

Grumpy looked up and raised his hands to caress the air around his ears. Green sparkled in the air as he reset his hearing to its regular level. Without saying a word, he lowered his hands and turned to stare at Snow expectantly. Snow swallowed and took a deep breath then raised trembling fingers up to her ears. She paused and breathed in again before the pink sparkles trailed her fingers and she attempted to copy what he did.

"Oh!" Snow gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth as her eyes went wide. Grumpy knew that the spell went wrong, and he raised his fingers up around her ears and guided her own magic up to fix the mistake so she would get the feel of what she should do. She relaxed as everything settled.

"Couldn't hear anything," she said, blushing. "Everything was roaring like high winds."

"You'll get it," Grumpy said, patting her hand. "Takes practice. But don't panic. Jest 'member ya can fix it, take a breath, and adjust."

Snow reached for the cup of water by the bed on the floor and picked it up. She took a sip then set aside her empty plate and sighed.

"Sommit wrong?" Grumpy asked.

"No."

"Mmhm."

Snow looked up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"If ya need ta talk, ya can. If not…" Grumpy shrugged.

Snow studied him. "You said you used to take care of girls. Is that why you're different?"

"Differ'nt from?" Grumpy asked.

"Doc and the others."

Grumpy squinted at Snow thoughtfully then shook his head. "Ain't a fair comparison. Not fer jest that one thing. I only met 'em ten years ago. Afore that…" Grumpy paused and huffed. "I had a differ'nt life afore I came here. We'll say that fer now."

Snow nodded and there was a crash from downstairs. She jumped, upsetting the water glass she had forgotten about, which splashed over Grumpy and the straw tick. Grumpy slapped a hand over her mouth as she let out a cry of surprise. Silence from downstairs. They sat still as time ticked by. Finally, Doc came in and Grumpy relaxed and removed his hand.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Sorry," Snow said softly. "What happened?"

"Knocked over a ware, erm, chair," Doc said. "I thought I heard you. Said I was drumming, erm, coming up to check on Grumpy."

"Sorry," she repeated.

"It's okay, Snow," Doc said. "We'll get him to leave in an hour or so. Stay quiet. I don't think Rowan would way, um, say anything, but…"

"Jest in case," Grumpy said.

"Exactly. Just in case," Doc said, smiling at them.

He left them, closing the door behind him. Snow relaxed and grimaced as she looked at Grumpy. His shirt was dripping water, and she felt guilty.

"So sorry."

"Stop apologizin'. Yer fine. I gots another clean shirt."

Grumpy pulled off his shirt and tossed it over a chest to dry then went over to get a clean one. Snow glanced at him then openly stared at his back, crossed with lines. Not just any lines. Scars. Her mouth fell open, and Grumpy, sensing her gaze, turned to see what was wrong.

"What?" he asked uneasily.

"You've been lashed," she whispered.

Grumpy flushed and shrugged, tugging the shirt on and adjusting his beard. "Yep."

He expected her to ask what he was lashed for, something the brothers had never asked before, but she didn't. Her bottom lip trembled and she blinked away tears.

"My stepmother had me lashed several times," Snow whispered. "'A lash for every fault and a strike for every mistake,' she would say."

Grumpy grimaced. "Sorry 'bout that."

She nodded and turned away, exhaling shakily. Grumpy walked over and patted her shoulder. It took her several minutes to compose herself, but she finally sat up and turned back to him.

"What were you lashed for?"

Grumpy debated about whether or not to tell her then decided that he could trust her. It wasn't like the brothers weren't allowed to ask about his past, but they did so rarely. He thought it was because the answers he gave always upset them. They didn't understand anything about the life he left, and Grumpy was loath to tell them. They really knew so little of his past, but the same was true for him. He never asked, unsure if he was welcome to probe the sensitive, painful parts of their lives before him. But Snow was like him in many ways, and he knew from what she had said about her stepmother that Snow had dealt with great pain in her life already.

"Was caught with sommit that didn't belong ta me. Didn't steal it, but I knew who did. Didn't tell 'em who done it, so's they lashed me in her place."

"Oh! Was it for a lady?" Snow got a familiar dreamy look in her eyes.

Grumpy snorted and swallowed down a lump in his throat. "Naw. She was no lady," he said, and his voice cracked. He cleared his throat. "She was a monster."

"So… not a love story?" Snow asked.

"I'm an orphan, Snow," Grumpy said quietly. "I weren't raised by Dwarfs. I was raised by a human woman. Her name's Calida." Grumpy waved his hand and projected his memory of Calida out in front of them. Snow stared at the tall, beautiful woman with long, straight red hair and sharp, dark green eyes. "She let me take the lashes," he whispered. "And she watched. And she laughed. I was doin' it fer her, and she laughed as they publicly lashed me." He looked away to hide his tears and waved away the vision. "I wanted ta call her mama afore that. But I knew she didn't care a whit fer me after I saw her laughin'."

Snow slipped onto the floor and embraced Grumpy, who grumbled but allowed her to stay when he realized that she, too, was crying. Patting her back as he got ahold of himself, he eventually cleared his throat and wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"'S'okay, Snow. We're both okay now."

"Sounds like we both had awful stepmothers," Snow said.

"She ain't no mother ta me," Grumpy said firmly.

"Grimhilde was never my mother either, Grumpy. Once Father died, she just didn't have to pretend anymore."

Grumpy smiled and stepped back as Snow perched on her bed again. "Then I guess we have sommit in common."

After a moment of silence, Snow glanced at Grumpy. "Thank you."

"Eh?" Grumpy squinted at her.

"For listening. I never get to talk about anything that's happened to me."

Grumpy shrugged and pulled a stool over to sit down. "Me neither," he admitted almost shyly.

"Why not?" Snow asked.

"They never ask questions. So's I never have ta answer," Grumpy replied. "What about you?"

Snow went very still. "She could get anything out of anyone."

"The queen?" Grumpy asked.

"Yes. The other servants all ignored me. None of them would even look at me unless they had to."

Grumpy grunted. "Mebbe they was tryin' ta protect ya."

Snow looked up thoughtfully and reached up to put a hand over her heart. "The huntsman didn't kill me even though he could have," she murmured. "Perhaps you're right. He seemed truly remorseful. Maybe they were, too."

The two sat quietly together, lost in their own thoughts, until Doc came up and reported that Rowan was gone. Snow got up and went downstairs to fix Grumpy a plate since he hadn't eaten dinner. Doc could sense the somber mood, but he didn't pry. Grumpy went down to eat and look over the designs for the jewelry. The day went on as the brothers began to speak about how to divide up the work for the order. Snow started supper, and the night was an overall peaceful one. But Grumpy lay awake for half an hour thinking about how horribly similar Calida was to Grimhilde. He understood Snow's childhood much better now, and he felt fiercely protective of the girl. If only he could erase the scars on her back. He hadn't seen them, but he knew they were there. Foolish as he was, he knew he'd have taken every lash for the princess, because he was sure Snow wouldn't have laughed.