Grumpy woke up feeling very strange. It was a light feeling, and he wondered at it. When a cool rag brushed his face, he grumbled and tried to swat at it, but despite the light feeling, he could barely lift his arms. There was a pause.

"Are you awake, Grumpy?" Doc asked from beside him.

Grumpy opened his eyes to see Doc sitting beside his bed, a book in one hand and a warm smile on his face. He marked his place with a feather then closed the book and leaned close.

"Welcome stack, ah, back. How do you feel?"

"Thirsty," Grumpy croaked.

Doc bent over and pulled up a ladle of water. He lifted Grumpy slightly with one arm so he could drink. Grumpy swallowed the cool water gratefully then lay back and shivered.

"What happened? I feel horrible."

"Oh, we ripped the purse, ah, curse out of you and killed Calida," Doc said nonchalantly.

Grumpy squinted at him. "No foolin'?"

"Do you feel different?" Doc asked.

"Yep. Real different." He stared at Doc. "You really killed that bitch?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Doc explained everything that the brothers had done while Grumpy was under the curse. Grumpy lay very still as he listened.

"She's really dead?" Grumpy asked when he was done. Doc nodded, and Grumpy swallowed, trying to blink away tears. "Well ain't that somethin'."

Doc smiled and stood up to hug Grumpy tightly. Grumpy clutched at him, feeling strangely empty inside. He knew Calida was dead. He could feel it. He hadn't even realized what she'd been doing to him. Tears soaked into Doc's shirt, and he rubbed Grumpy's back soothingly as he wept. It felt like a weight had finally been lifted between them, and Grumpy reveled in the freedom he felt.

"I suppose it's a lot to bake, ah, take in," Doc murmured.

"A bit," Grumpy said, chuckling. "And thanks don't exactly cover it."

"Anything for a brother," Doc said.

Grumpy pulled back and stared at Doc, his heart aching. "You mean it?"

"Of course," Doc said.

"What does Sneezy think?" Grumpy asked.

Doc frowned. "He's fine with it."

"Good. Don't wanna ever leave again."

Doc laughed when he realized Grumpy was referring to the rocky beginning he'd had with Sneezy. "We'll beckon, ah, check in with him, but I'm pretty sure he's fine with it."

Grumpy grinned and sighed, lying back. "Mind if I have some of that restorative draught?"

"Which one is it?" Doc asked.

"Green one."

Doc got up and retrieved it. Grumpy popped the top and took a long swig. A shiver of magic rose up his back and he felt a little better.

"Any puck, um, luck?"

"A bit," Grumpy said. "But it ain't nearly strong enough to really help."

"Well, could you take, er, stake, urm, make a stronger one?"

"Would have to get some ingredients from the library, but I could try. I can't go, though."

"You could send Snow and one of us to bet, uh, get what you need," Doc said.

Grumpy nodded. "Where is everybody?"

"Getting food. I hope they bring Snow back. This place is so wig, uh, big that it's hard to find people."

Grumpy pushed himself up on shaking arms and settled against his pillow. After a short rest, he raised his hands and touched his magic. He gasped and shivered, shocked by how different it felt.

"What's wrong?" Doc asked, sitting down beside him.

"Feels different," Grumpy murmured. He cast a spell and sent it through the wall. Doc helped Grumpy up and into a pair of pants. He'd just settled back on the bed when the door materialized and the rest of the brothers came in with plates full of food. Snow and Bastian came in behind them and the door disappeared again. Snow gathered up the skirts of her plain dress and practically flew across the room to embrace him.

"Oh, you're okay!"

Grumpy grunted and hugged her back. "Guess I am, girlie," he said. Snow kissed Grumpy's head, and he batted her away.

"Good to see you up, Grumpy," Bastian said.

"How's things?" Grumpy asked.

"Crazy. We don't know what to do. The entire structure of the guild depended on her. News hasn't gotten out yet, but it will soon, and everything will collapse."

"Probably for the best," Grumpy murmured.

Bastian nodded. "I agree. Calida was getting too powerful. She had almost all the thieves from three kingdoms under her control."

"Why though?" Snow asked.

"'Cause she never had enough," Grumpy said.

"Maybe that was from bein' linked to your curse," Sleepy suggested.

"Naw. Not completely," Grumpy said. "She was like that before me, I think."

He shifted and grimaced, and Doc immediately cut in. "Snow, my dear, would you squeeze, ah, please take Sleepy to the library so we can have some ingredients for a stronger restorative lotion, erm, potion?"

"Certainly," Snow said.

"Book," Grumpy said, pointing at a shelf across the room. Sleepy went over, scanned the spines, and selected one with herbs on it.

"This one?" Sleepy asked.

Grumpy nodded. Sleepy gave him the book the retrieved a quill, ink, and parchment. Grumpy flipped through the book until he found what he was looking for and he squinted at the page. He carefully marked down the ingredients and their amounts then handed it to Sleepy.

"You be careful, Snow," Grumpy said. "Forty paces exactly."

"Or what?" Bastian asked curiously.

"Water," Snow said, giggling. "Lots and lots of water."

Grumpy snorted. "That's if you're short. If you overshoot it, you're bolted."

"Bolted?" Sneezy asked.

"It's a magic bolt of lightning," Snow said. "It's very painful, and if Grumpy hadn't been there when I got it wrong, I might be dead."

"So forty paces exactly," Grumpy said. "Go on, Snow."

"I need the rhyme."

Sleepy jumped forward, placed his hands behind his back, and beamed as he waited for the command to begin. The Dwarfs all laughed at his eagerness. He never got tired of telling the same stories. Snow threw out the silver sheet and took a deep breath.

"Slowly, please," she said.

Sleepy obliged, and Snow maneuvered her way to the lake. She very carefully counted forty paces and relaxed when the doors appeared.

"Ready, Sleepy?"

He checked the list and looked at Grumpy. "Do I need to pay?"

"Naw. Just take what I gots written down," Grumpy said. "And if the sign has a star on it, Snow better pick it. Those can bite back."

They nodded and left. Grumpy took another drink of water then got out of bed and swayed.

"Where exactly are you stowing, ah, going?" Doc asked.

"Gots to have a worktable to make the draught," Grumpy said.

Doc relaxed and helped him over to the table. When he was seated, he sent the brothers to gather the tools he'd need to make the potion. By the time Snow and Sleepy appeared in a flash of pink sparkles, Grumpy was ready for them. He set the book on a stand and began to pick through the ingredients, glancing occasionally at the book. The rest of the room watched with interest as he slowly, methodically ground and measured ingredients. Every so often, there was a flash of green magic as he cast some spell. When he was done, he poured a thick green potion into a bottle and set it aside. He rubbed his eyes, looking very tired.

"Ain't usually this hard," he said.

"Considering the fact that you just had a giant golden dragon ripped out of you, I'm guessing your magic is a tad weak right now," Bastian said, grinning. He was playing with something, and Dopey jumped up and hurried over, holding his hand out.

"These aren't yours," Bastian said.

"What?" Grumpy asked.

"Ah, your stash of gemstones," Bastian said.

"He can have them. Don't care much for them now."

Bastian stiffened then dumped the seven gems into Dopey's hand. "You really are free of the gold sickness, aren't you?" he asked in wonder.

"Guess so," Grumpy said. "Don't really care if I have treasure or not now. I don't need nothin' else. I have enough right here."

The brothers were touched by that, and Doc beamed. "Let's get you back in stead, uh, bed," he said. "Then you can have a swallow of the draught and some food. You rusty, ah, must be hungry."

"A bit," Grumpy said.

Happy made Grumpy a small plate while Doc helped him back to bed. It was such a relief to lie down, and Grumpy relaxed with a satisfied sigh as he sank into the straw tick that was his mattress. He took the food and ate then asked for the potion. Doc brought it over and handed it to him. Grumpy opened it, peered at Doc, then smirked.

"Sure hope I got it right. Else this is gonna be bad," he said, and before Doc could respond, he took a large mouthful.

The surge of magic that raced up his spine made him shiver. For a moment, he was full of warmth as his body tingled, then everything settled and he felt quite a bit better. Doc peered at him anxiously, and Grumpy grinned.

"Got it right," he assured Doc. "Knew I did, anyhow. If it weren't green, then we'd have a problem."

"You're awful," Doc said, but he smiled.

"Yep. And you're stuck with me. Unless Sneezy don't want me."

Sneezy snorted. "Last time I didn't want you, I ended up with a wolf bite."

"And you nearly froze to death," Grumpy pointed out.

Bashful grinned and tittered. "Yeah. And Grumpy had to warm you up."

Sneezy's face went scarlet, and he crossed his arms and looked away. The brothers all burst out laughing at his embarrassment, and Bashful looped an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm only teasin'," he said gently.

Sneezy eyed him and nodded. "I knows that."

"So what now?" Bastian asked.

"Any more luck with the orb, Snow?" Grumpy asked.

"A bit," Snow said. "I think we're only missing one more piece."

"Once you have it, what will trappen, uh, happen?" Doc asked.

"Can finally weave a counterspell," Grumpy said.

"How?" Happy asked.

"How do you knows when somethin's missin' from your cookin'?" Grumpy asked, shrugging. "I just can. Don't have to do all that word work to weave a spell. That's only if you learn magic. I was born with it. If I wasn't, things would be different."

Bastian leaned forward. "But what do we do once you have the counterspell? You'll have to get back to Raverra to cast it, right? Well, Findersland is now locked up tighter than a thief's purse. Nobody is allowed to cross the border. Holda, the woman who is now queen, won't let anybody in or out."

Grumpy tapped his thigh. "Snow? Why didn't they crown you?"

Snow's lips tightened. "After Grimhilde disappeared, there was nobody to take over, so some of the highest ranking members of the court made a sort of council to rule the kingdom. When Florian and I came to the castle, there was a meeting to discuss what to do, and the council decided that I was unfit to be the crown ruler, despite my royal blood. So they sent me to Findersland until I could be married to Florian. Then, once we are wed, he would be crowned as king."

Sleepy looked outraged. "What kind of hogwash is that?" he snapped. "You're the rightful queen! You don't need to get married to be crowned! That's treasonous talk!"

"Is it?" Snow asked. A thoughtful look crossed her face, and they all watched her pace for a few minutes. "If it is treason, then I have the right by royal blood to take the crown." She stopped and faced them. "I know I have loyal followers in the castle. There's Heinrich, for one, and many of the servants are friends now that Grimhilde no longer threatens them. But the nobles are a gamble."

"Do you feel lucky?" Grumpy asked.

"Depends on who I have on my side."

"Us, of course," Doc said.

"I would be honored to serve you, Kasper," Bastian said solemnly. "And there are many here who will be loyal to you as well."

Snow looked around and smiled. "Anybody feel like visiting my home? Because I believe I need to take care of some business there."

"We need to stay soot, erm, put for a few days, Snow," Doc said. "But once Grumpy is better, we'd be honored to escort you home."

"We need a few more days to figure out the counterspell anyhow," Grumpy said. "And we can coordinate the thieves' activities now, too. We'll figure out who is on our side and who don't want nothin' to do with it."

Snow nodded. "That is acceptable. Sleepy?"

Sleepy looked at her. "Yeah?"

"I need you to make me another dress. A fine one, fit for a queen, for my coronation."

Excitement flashed across Sleepy's face, and his tiredness vanished. "You mean it? You want me to make your coronation dress?"

"Of course."

"I'll need cloth and gold and silver thread and some gems," Sleepy said.

"We've got all that and more," Bastian said. "Help yourself to whatever you need. I'll show you where you can get them."

Sleepy nodded, and they all looked at Snow for confirmation of the plan. She peered at all of them.

"Get to work. Grumpy, you and I need to unravel the rest of that curse. The rest of you, do whatever must be done to prepare."

"Yes, your highness," Grumpy said, bowing. The brothers and Bastian followed suit. Snow smiled then leaned over to kiss Grumpy's head.

"Dagnabbit, woman!" he yelped, shoving her away as his cheeks went pink.

Everybody laughed as they split up to prepare for the journey. Grumpy met Snow's eyes and leaned forward when it was only them and Doc.

"Your pa would be proud of you, Snow."

Tears filled her eyes and she embraced him. "That means the world to me, Grumpy."

He kissed her forehead, and she turned to go and get the books and scrolls and orb for further study. Then it was just Doc and Grumpy again. Grumpy scrubbed his eyes and leaned back.

"I believe our father would be proud of you, too," Doc murmured.

Grumpy looked over sharply. "What?"

"Papa," Doc said. "I think Papa would have spiked, um, liked you, Grumpy. I think he'd be glad you're with us."

There was a pause and Grumpy swallowed, blinking away tears. He'd cried enough that day. Still, he couldn't help but ask, "What about your ma?"

"Her, too," Doc said. "I know it doesn't really matter…"

"It does," Grumpy said. "It does matter, Doc. It means a lot to know your folks would like me. 'Cause the rest of your family sure don't."

Doc looked perplexed. "You never visit them with us, though. You've never met the test, uh, rest of our family."

"I met Diligent and two of your cousins in Castell, Doc," Grumpy said. "Diligent figured I stole your pa's treasures. So he don't like me none." He paused. "He wasn't wrong. I did steal them."

"We'll explain," Doc said. "He'll understand the gold sickness. You'll see."

Grumpy looked up at Doc, sure he was wrong but unable to tell him why. Doc hadn't seen the look on Diligent's face when he'd cornered Grumpy and accused him of stealing the treasures. He hadn't heard the threats from their cousins, Clumsy and Friendly, to do terrible things to him if they found out he'd actually stolen from the brothers. But there were more pressing matters to attend to, so Grumpy only nodded as the door materialized and Snow brought in the books and scrolls. Doc bid him good luck, and he turned and hurried away to help with the preparations. Grumpy shrugged off the remembered threats and continued his study of the orb. That, at least, was something he could handle.