Grumpy woke first, sore and thirsty beyond anything, the sun high above him. His back ached from the heavy pack that he hadn't thought to shrug off, and he groaned as he shifted. Everything hurt. He hadn't used so much magic in years. Everybody had their limits, and he sure as sugar had found his again.

Stirring himself, he sat up and quickly pulled out a water skein, drinking until he was satisfied. Then he gingerly tested his magic. He would be fine if he took it easy. So Grumpy stood, took twenty paces out and began to circle, weaving a protective spell to replace the weak one he'd woven before passing out. That done, he threw out a ball of fire, which hovered above the grass, and he waited for Snow to wake up.

When she finally did, she looked bewildered, and she cried out when she tried to move.

"Easy, Snow," Grumpy said. "Bit by bit."

"What happened?" she whispered, tears in her eyes as she began to shift and test her muscles.

"That witch took over the kingdom, I expect. And now she'll be after us."

Snow groaned as she wobbled to her knees before sitting up. "So what now?"

"I gots to protect you, first off."

"And then?"

Grumpy stared at her, passing her the skein. "I ain't the one who just lost everythin' again." He leaned forward. "What do you think we should do, princess?"

Snow drank several large mouthfuls then looked at him sadly. "It doesn't matter, Grumpy. It truly doesn't. Nobody will listen to me. I'm just a girl, and I don't know what I'm doing."

"Mmhm." Grumpy peered at her.

"Did you know I haven't been coronated yet?" Snow asked. "I should be the queen of Germonia. But some of the council decided they didn't want a little girl to lead them, so they sent me away to get married to Florián so he could become king."

"Stupid of them. You're more capable than most men, Snow," Grumpy assured her.

"I love Florián, Grumpy," Snow said. "Please don't think otherwise, but I don't like being forced to marry to rule my own kingdom. But Isabela and Ferdinand approve…"

"And Florián?"

"He says he'll love me whether he's the crown ruler of Germonia or not."

"Smart boy," Grumpy said, grinning. "Knew I liked him."

"What do we do?"

"What do you want to do?" Grumpy insisted.

Snow hesitated. "I want to save Findersland. But I'm just one stupid little girl."

"You ain't stupid, you ain't little, and you ain't just a girl." He gestured at the orb he'd retrieved and summoned it, shuddering as he touched it.

"Black magic?" Snow asked.

"Yep. Ugly kind." He looked up at her. "If my princess commands it, I can try and figure out the spell so's we can reverse it. But that's up to you."

"Why me?"

"'Cause you're the daughter of a king," Grumpy said. "It's your duty to protect your kingdom and people."

"But Findersland isn't mine," Snow pointed out.

"Yep. But it's Florián's and he can't do much about it right now. They're lost if we don't do somethin', Snow."

Snow sat there, testing her muscles until she was sure she could stand. Then she stood and began to pace. She subconsciously made her way to the shield and touched it as she walked in a circle, trailing her hand over the surface like when Grumpy had taught her to strengthen the magic bubble around the cottage. Grumpy watched her without a word, allowing her to think.

When she stopped pacing and turned to look at Grumpy, he knew her decision before she spoke. Her proud face was hard and her eyes shone like glittering jewels, and Grumpy was awed that he was standing in the presence of such nobility.

"Well, if it is truly my decision, and you will follow me, then I order you to find out what magic was used."

Grumpy stood up and took off his hat, bowing low. "Yes, your majesty. And I would follow you anywhere."

Snow giggled. "You're silly."

Grumpy grinned and waved his hand. There was the sound of shattering glass, and the shield burst into pieces. Then he drew the fire back into his hand and it burst into magic, and he absorbed it. Snow stared with her mouth open.

"How did you do that?"

"Glad you're curious, 'cause you're gonna find out," Grumpy said. "Time for more lessons. You gotta have more stamina for your magic if we have any hope of beatin' that witch. We'll practice when we stop."

"But where are we going?"

"There's a magic library hidden somewhere. Should have all the information we need. Problem is, I ain't got the directions, and it could be anywhere from Findersland to Germonia to Rhindhaven."

"That's a lot of ground to cover," Snow said.

"Then let's get to it."

"But what about Doc and the others?"

Grumpy went quiet. "They'll be fine," he finally said.

"Did something happen?" Snow asked.

Grumpy heaved on his pack and turned away from Raverra. "This way."

He could feel Snow's eyes on him as they began to walk. She wanted to know, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her that the brothers no longer wanted him around. The thought made a cold numbness spread from his heart to the rest of him. Unwanted. Just like he'd always been. But it was for the best. They didn't need a cracked gem like him anyway.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Getting out of the city had been surprisingly difficult. There were guards swarming everywhere, and they had an odd, detached look in their eyes. Bastian knew then that the brothers were telling the truth. There was a secret coup that had taken down the crown, and now whoever had taken the crown was trying to seal in the city. Bastian sent the brothers through then went back and sent a message to the thieves to stay low and spread the news to the others. After that, he rejoined them and they hurried away, eager to put as much distance between them and Raverra as possible.

When they stopped to rest, Bastian finally lit a lantern, confident they were far enough to not draw attention. Then he pulled out a map and they all sat down.

"We need to head somewhere," Bastian told Doc. "The only question is where?"

Doc peered at the map, pursing his lips. Then he stood up and began doing something strange. He would walk a few steps in one direction, then shake his head and try another. Eventually he pointed to the southwest.

"That way, he said, and he sat back down. Bashful opened his mouth to ask if it was the magic then paused. Did Bastian know Grumpy could do magic? But Bastian grinned.

"You've been to a magic shop. Well, that's one way to find him. I've heard that he has very distinctive magic, being a Dwarf."

"So you know?" Happy asked.

Bastian's brow creased. "About Ivan's magic? Did you not?" he looked even warier now, as if he didn't want to say anything else.

"No. But we do now," Doc said pleasantly. "What are our plans?"

"Start walking until the magic tells you otherwise," Bastian said. He rolled up the map and handed Doc the lantern. "Lead the way, Doc."

So Doc did. They turned and began to walk. Doc seemed remarkably calm despite the fact that he didn't know what would happen next. He was always anxious over his brothers, and Grumpy wasn't an exception. But with the magic in his veins, he didn't care. He would find him. It was a certainty as deep as his certainty of a gem's quality when he touched it.

They walked until sunrise then had breakfast. It was good to rest, but they were subdued. Finally Bashful turned to Bastian.

"When did you meet Grumpy?" he asked.

"He was fifteen, I was twelve," Bastian said, tearing off a chunk of bread. "He was nice to me and stood up for me when Calida tried to beat me for a mistake. I talked with him and decided I liked him, even if he was a Dwarf."

"That's awful nice of you," Sleepy said coldly.

"Oh, I don't mean it like that," Bastian said. "But he was the only Dwarf in the guild, and there were so many odd stories about him. He could sense danger before it happened, was full of natural magic, and he wasn't exactly well-liked by most of the boys. But he was better at the job than the rest of us. His quota was easily met every time. It helped that he could tell the quality of jewels and gold before he swiped them."

Bashful choked on a drink of water and spat it out, staring at Bastian. "Swiped them?"

"Yeah," Bastian said. He stopped and stared at them. "He really didn't tell you anything?"

"He's told us a bit," Sleepy said.

"Not nearly enough," Sneezy groused.

"So… why did he tripe, erm, swipe them?" Doc asked.

Bastian hesitated. "Well…"

"We aren't going to peeve, ah, leave him," Doc said seriously.

There was a moment of silence as Bastian stared intently at the Dwarf before he sat back and nodded. "I believe you. Well, he was adopted by Calida when he was found as a boy. She's the head of the thieves guild, so naturally, Ivan was raised to be a thief. That was what he was before he met you. He was a thief, and a damn good one."

Sneezy sneezed and scrubbed his eyes, shooting a glare at some innocent flowers nearby. "That explains why he don't like touchin' jewels then."

Bastian raised his eyebrows. "Does it?" he asked, sounding uncertain.

"Maybe," Sleepy said, but he, too, sounded unsure.

There was quiet for a few minutes before Bashful spoke, his voice soft. "So he's a thief?"

"Was," Bastian corrected. "He told me that day in Castell that he was done. In fact, he quit the guild the next day. And you don't quit the guild."

Sleepy swallowed his last mouthful. "What's done with stolen stuff?"

"It's collected and then dispersed to wherever benefits us most," Bastian said.

"I guess that's why he said he couldn't find them."

"Find what?" Happy asked.

"Papa's treasures."

Bastian kept his face neutral. "He checked the stock and they weren't there," he said carefully. "I remember how angry he was. He turned and spoke to Calida like I'd never heard him speak to her before. When she tried to punish him, he lashed out. He'd never done that before. She was injured when she woke up and was livid that Ivan was gone. He was always docile around her before, but I think the missing treasures were the last straw. He told her to her face that he quit then took down the whole room in a blast. Then he left and went back to you. That was the last time I spoke to him. I never expected to see him again."

"Well, you'll get to be, erm, see him when we find him," Doc said. "Are we done eating?"

They all nodded and stood up, shouldering their packs again. Doc turned and walked several steps then changed direction slightly and set off. The others followed, Bastian bringing up the rear.

The human didn't know what to do. Ivan had told them almost nothing about his past. They hadn't known his name, they hadn't known he had magic, and they hadn't known of his job as a thief. From the little conversation they'd had, Bastian knew that the brothers didn't know that it wasn't a random thief who had stolen from them. It hadn't even crossed their minds when they found out Ivan was a thief. They trusted him. Bastian decided that he had no right to tell them about that. Only Ivan did.

'Grumpy,' he scolded himself.'He's not Ivan anymore. He's Grumpy.'

A doubt niggled in his mind though. William had called him Ivan, and he'd been puzzled when asked where Grumpy was. Grumpy hadn't told him his Dwarf name. Bastian was pretty sure that Grumpy had been detaching himself from that name. He watched the brothers walk ahead of him, and he desperately prayed that somehow they would understand why Grumpy had stolen from them. That was a lot to ask when even Grumpy himself didn't know why. But Doc had said they wouldn't leave him. He hoped they didn't change their minds or else Grumpy really would be gone. Ivan would be all that was left, and that was a fate that would lead Grumpy straight into a grave.

He'd said it himself twelve years ago: if they didn't want him, there was no point in living anymore.