Doc awoke several hours later, magic surging like electricity through his veins. He didn't move, peering into the darkness as there was a rustle of movement. Green light burst to life as Grumpy lit a fire and began to get dressed. His movements were odd, jerky and unnatural, and Doc knew the curse was at work. Grumpy's expression was dead, and when he was dressed, he padded over to the door and opened it by tracing the symbol. As soon as the door closed behind him, Doc burst out of bed and unshuttered the lantern.
"Up! Up now! Get dressed!"
The boom of his voice in the quiet room woke the others immediately, and the brothers all bounded from their beds and began pulling off their nightshirts and fumbling for their clothes. When they were dressed, Doc grabbed the lantern and led them to the door, talking as he went.
"Not a word once we sleeve, erm, leave. Don't let Grumpy see you."
"Where is he?" Sneezy demanded.
"Under his curse," Doc said. "Now hush and follow be, er, me."
He traced the symbol and they hurried into the hallway. Doc turned and ran in the opposite direction that he knew Grumpy had gone in. They hurried through the main hub, and Bastian saw the frantic look on Doc's face and knew there was trouble. He tailed them, determined to help.
Doc led them into a large room that housed supplies of all kinds. He gestured for them to hide. Bastian slipped in behind him, and Doc spun then looked relieved. He gestured for him to hide by the crates nearest the door and made gestures that nobody should move until he did. Then he hid himself in a dark corner and they waited. There was a soft noise and Snow's voice sounded out.
"What's all this about, Grumpy?"
There was no response as Grumpy led her inside. His expression was still dead, and Snow looked uneasy and frightened.
"Grumpy, that's enough! Answer me!"
"Grumpy?" a scathing voice scoffed. "What kind of a name is that? He didn't even get a decent Dwarf name."
Snow spun around and gasped. "Calida," she hissed, her eyes flashing.
"Hello, Snow White," Calida said. "You are quite the nuisance. Holda's been searching for you everywhere in Findersland. Yet here you are in Germonia. I suppose that was Ivan's doing."
Doc's entire world narrowed onto the woman who walked into the doorway. This was her. The woman who made Grumpy suffer for years. The one Sleepy said would have to die for Grumpy to live. As he scanned her beautiful face and long red hair, his heartbeat quickened and his pulse thundered in his ears so loud that it gave him a headache. He felt very sick all of a sudden, and he bit back a whimper, clenching his fists.
Calida strode over to Snow and peered at her, unimpressed. "Of course he'd disguise you as a boy. He has this thing for protecting girls. Holda should have guessed, but she hasn't spent enough time around him to know his tricks."
"You leave him alone!"
"Or what?" Calida scoffed. "You'll hurt me? I've got bad news for you, Princess." She held up a dark coin. "We know about your magic now, so Holda prepared me. You're too young to be able to burst the protection. You're mine. And so is Ivan."
Calida turned to Grumpy and began to walk around him. "Hasn't changed much," she said idly. "Beard's longer though."
She paused then reached over and yanked his beard hard. Grumpy made no noise as he spasmed and hit the floor, his eyes still blank. Calida laughed as Snow flushed with rage. Doc's eyes burned with tears of hatred. He'd never hated anybody, but this woman was different. Some primal part of him was outraged and terrified by Calida, but he couldn't figure out why as the right side of his head throbbed. The magic told him to stay still, but he wanted to make her pay.
"Don't you do that to him!" Snow spat, her eyes flashing.
"Or what?" Calida asked. "Your magic is useless against me."
Snow shivered and glanced at Grumpy. She did not back down despite not having an answer. "Touch him again and you'll regret it."
"Ivan dear," Calida purred. "Get up."
Grumpy pushed himself to his feet, his expression blank.
"Come to me, Ivan."
Grumpy plodded over and stopped beside Calida. Snow looked horrified.
"Grumpy?" she asked.
"Amazing what a good boy he can be sometimes," Calida said.
Doc felt like he was going to suffocate with rage. He peered around and grabbed a sturdy wooden rod. Gripping it in his hands, he took a deep breath and waited. Almost. He just had to wait for the right moment.
"Ivan," Calida said slowly. "Cast a shield. Make sure she cannot get through."
Grumpy obeyed, and the magic that dripped from his fingers was no longer green. It had a sickly red hue, and Snow's mouth dropped open. She looked around frantically as the shield sealed the room.
"Grumpy…" she squeaked.
"Ivan," Calida said emphatically. "Take out your knife."
He obeyed.
"Stop it…" Snow whispered.
"Make her kneel before me."
Snow cried out as she was forced to her knees in a burst of red sparks, and she scrabbled at the ground as she fought.
"Kill her."
Grumpy reached forward, and Doc tensed.
"Grumpy, I order you to stop!" Snow suddenly screamed, pink magic bursting out of her and washing over Grumpy.
He obeyed, and Calida's mouth dropped open. "Impossible!"
"Release me!" Snow boomed.
"No, Ivan! Keep her bound!" Calida snapped. Panic was on her face, and she gazed between Snow and Grumpy. "I'm done. Time to try again."
Before Snow could respond, Calida barreled forward and struck her. The force flung her back, and while she fell to the floor, Calida pulled a knife and turned to Grumpy. As she grabbed his beard and moved to slit his throat, Doc barreled out of hiding, letting out a bellow.
"Don't you touch my brother!"
Calida turned and the expression that twisted her face was nothing short of horrified. She released Grumpy and gaped at Doc, unable to move as he lashed out with the rod. She stumbled back as the others burst out of hiding, and her eyes swept the room.
"There's six of you?!" she shrieked. "No! Impossible! There were only five treasures!"
Doc stood threateningly in front of Grumpy, his expression so wild and angry that even his brothers paused when they saw it. Calida suddenly looked like she was trapped, and she turned and ran for the door. But the shield was still there, and she was shocked violently as she tried to push through.
"Ivan!"
"Grumpy!" Snow retorted.
"No! This will end my way! You will not take this away from us!" Calida roared.
Reaching up, she grabbed something in midair and twisted. Grumpy let out a screech of agony, and a golden chain appeared, pulsing as it spanned the room between them. Calida began to pull the chain away from her, and Grumpy screamed again, writhing.
"She's gonna break the curse and kill him!" Sleepy shouted.
Snow threw out her hands, and Calida laughed at her magic, but she had to focus on Snow instead of breaking the curse. The brothers gathered together, unsure of what to do, but Doc was finally filled with purpose.
"She wants to break the curse?" Doc asked. "Let's do it then." Tossing away his makeshift weapon, he grabbed Grumpy from behind.
"What do we do?" Sneezy demanded frantically.
"Pull it out," Sleepy exclaimed, and he grabbed the golden chain and yanked.
This time both Calida and Grumpy screamed. Doc tightened his grip. "Keep her busy, Snow!" he boomed. "Bastian, help her!"
"No! Stop it!" Calida sounded even more panicked as Bastian stepped out. "You can't do this!" She moved to break the curse again, but Snow lunged forward and shoved her magic out. Bastian hurried forward to help but was scalded by Snow's magic and was forced back.
The brothers all grasped the chain and began to pull. Grumpy screamed louder, and Doc cradled him. "It's okay, brother," he murmured. "Almost over. Hold on. It'll only hurt for a few moments."
Grumpy grasped his hand, tears streaming down his face as the brothers pulled. As they did, something started blooming at the end of the chain. They tugged and jerked as Calida and Snow wrestled; the protective coin worked only against magic, and with Calida shrieking in pain, Snow could easily hold her down as she fought both ways. Bastian stood ready to jump in, but his eyes continually flickered over to Grumpy and the brothers.
The thing being pulled out bloomed into something larger and larger, and Doc held Grumpy as still as he could. The cries of pain that burst from Grumpy tore at him, but he'd learned long ago when he studied under a doctor that pain often came before healing. He continued to murmur in Grumpy's ear as the thing finally unfurled itself to reveal a terrible dragon made of magic. It roared, and Calida finally kicked Snow away. She reached forward to grab the chain, intending to break it first, but with one final heave, there was a snap and Doc and Grumpy stumbled back and hit the floor as the curse was broken.
The dragon immediately turned into an inky black mass, but two golden eyes glinted as it roared and flew toward Calida. Calida screamed, and as the dragon reached her, it burst, filling the room with shadows. Nobody could see, and there was a long silence before Bastian spoke.
"Doc?"
"We need some tight, ah, light," Doc managed to say.
"I'll get it," Snow said shakily. "Give me a moment."
There was a long pause then pink fire scattered the shadows. Bastian hurried over to help Snow up. She took his hand gratefully, and he supported her as she struggled to stay standing. She had a black eye and claw marks from Calida's nails all up and down her arms. She ignored all of that as she staggered over to Doc and Grumpy.
"Is he dead?" she asked.
Doc blinked up at her, and he laid his fingers on Grumpy's neck. "No," he sighed. "It's not very long, erm, strong though. We need to get him to his bloom, uh, room. I'll assess him there." Happy and Sneezy gently lifted Grumpy off of Doc, who stood up on trembling legs. He adjusted his glasses then walked over to Snow. "Let me see, Snow."
"Snow?" a woman asked. "As in Snow White?"
The brothers and Bastian turned to see about twenty people staring into the room. Bastian noticed them staring where Calida had been, and he turned to see a dark lump on the ground. He went to check for a pulse as Snow stood up straight.
"So what if I am?" Snow asked.
"Easy, Kasper," Bastian said. He stood up and turned to her. "It's okay."
"Explain."
"That bitch is finally dead. That means we don't have to keep you a secret anymore. Calida was the one Grumpy wanted to protect you from. Everybody else left here at Cliffside is more loyal to him than they ever were to her."
"She made us suffer," Millie said. "He healed us when she did. Trust me, dear. We won't miss her. But we can't help him unless you let us in."
Snow considered them for a moment then walked over and ran her fingers over the shield. "I can't break this," she declared.
"Oh, great," Bastian began.
"But that is of little consequence," Snow finished.
She stepped back and threw out a mirror and they were suddenly staring at her as she stepped through and gestured for them to come in. As they passed through, Snow turned to Doc.
"What do you need?"
"First we need to get him to his room. We'll go from there." Doc turned to Bastian. "You don't leave Snow alone with anybody Grumpy wouldn't bust, ah, trust. Stay with her."
"Of course," Bastian said. He stepped over beside her as Doc and the brothers carried Grumpy out of the room and through the halls. By the time they'd gotten him to his room and settled him in bed, Grumpy had woken up a bit.
"What's happened?" he slurred, panic in his face. "What'd I steal?"
"You stole nothing, brother," Doc assured him. "Now sleep. We'll take care of you."
A funny look crossed Grumpy's face and he squinted at Doc, but he was so tired. The thought that seemed just out of reach fell away completely as Grumpy accepted Doc's promise, feeling assured and safe. Wherever the brothers were was home, after all, so he must be safe. He fell asleep, and no greed stirred in his heart. He was free.
