Within three days, everything had settled into place. Grumpy finally figured out how to cast the countercurse, and he filled the orb with the spell and stored it in a magic pouch to hide its power. Sleepy finished up a beautiful dress for Snow, and she carefully packed it away for later use. Bastian rallied the rest of the thieves and the majority of them pledged loyalty to Snow. With Grumpy and Bastian coordinating things, the thieves began leaving in groups to gather intelligence and spread the news that Snow White was going to Altenfeld to be crowned queen. Once everything was ready, all that remained was to pack up and head out.
Grumpy gathered what he wanted of his belongings, knowing he would never come back to Cliffside again. He packed his potions, his magic books, the books Sleepy was interested in, his stupid drawings because Doc wanted him to, and a few odds and ends. While he was finishing up, Dopey walked over and held out the gems he'd pulled from the toy chest, his eyes full of questions.
"Go ahead and keep 'em," Grumpy said.
Dopey sat on the bed and swung his legs, peering at each gem. They were all very strange. He'd never seen any like them. He nudged Grumpy and gestured, asking why he'd kept them.
"They're odd," Grumpy said. "Just like me." He reached over and took the gems. He plucked up a red one and held it out. "You ever seen a red beryl before?"
Dopey shook his head.
"What about an orange opal?" Grumpy challenged, holding up an opal that looked like fire was flickering in its depths.
Dopey grinned and took it. That one was his favorite, and he told Grumpy so.
Grumpy raised his eyebrows. "You've got good taste, Dopey. That one's my favorite, too. It's the first one I ever got."
Dopey wiggled his ears, pleased to know this. Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Happy walked into the room, carrying the last of the supplies they needed to pack for the trip to Altenfeld. Dopey waved them over.
"What've you got there?" Happy asked when the sparkle of gems caught his eye.
Dopey grinned and held out the handful of gems. Bashful reached for the orange opal, peering at it. "Wow, this is so pretty! I ain't never seen one like this before."
"Is this a beryl?" Happy asked, holding the gem in his hand. "It's red! Ain't that somethin'!"
"Look at this one. It's jadeite, ain't it?" Sleepy asked.
"Guess so," Grumpy said. "Ain't got a name for most of these. Kofi gave me this one," he said, holding up a gorgeous yellow stone with a golden line splitting its center. "Said its from her country. Real valuable. And this one," he held up one of the richest blue stones they had ever seen. "Found this one while travelin'. Just sittin' there, pretty as could be."
He stared at the stones then took them all and handed them to Dopey. "Keep them if you want, but better pack them. Make sure they're safe."
Dopey nodded and hugged Grumpy tightly as everybody went back to their packing. Doc came in a few minutes later with Bastian.
"Almost fun, um, done?" he asked, adjusting his glasses.
"I think I'm ready," Grumpy said. He looked around the room he'd grown up in and saw nothing else he wanted. "Yep. I'm ready. And good riddance to this place."
"We do have some good memories here, you know," Bastian said.
Grumpy glanced at him. "Guess so." He smiled a little. "I showed you how to swipe purses here."
Bastian laughed. "Yes, and I got so good that the others were all jealous. But they never practiced with somebody who had magic and could detect everything."
Grumpy smiled. "Yeah." He paused and looked down. "Good times, though it ain't exactly good in all senses."
"But that life is behind you now," Bashful said, looping his arm across his shoulders. "And we're proud of you for choosin' otherwise."
Grumpy smiled and swiped at his eyes. "That's enough outta you," he muttered, but Bashful smiled and shook him.
The door materialized again and Snow came through with Millie. Millie looked around curiously.
"So this is your room?" she asked.
"Yep," Grumpy said. "Gonna take the spells off it so anybody can come and go again."
Millie looked at Grumpy. "It's been good to see you again, Iv… I mean, Grumpy. I'll miss you."
Grumpy nodded. "It's been good to see you, too, Mills."
Millie smiled sadly. She was staying at Cliffside to help coordinate the thieves. She had others to help, but she clearly wanted to go with them. Snow touched her gently.
"Thank you for staying, Millie. You are a key part of our plan," Snow said. "You and all those who swore loyalty to me will be rewarded once it's all said and done."
"If you win," Millie said.
"Ah, well I have seven Dwarfs with me who will try their damndest to keep me alive."
"Snow," Doc said in exasperation.
Snow giggled, and Grumpy snickered. She'd been throwing out random curse words to mess with Doc, and though everybody else was amused, Doc was not. Still, he couldn't keep frowning with that beautiful, mischievous smile on her face, so he shook his head and sighed.
"You're impossible, Snow."
Everybody laughed, and Grumpy leaned forward. "That's the danger of girls, Doc," Grumpy said.
"Hm?" Doc turned to peer at him.
Grumpy grinned. "They can get anythin' they want. All they have to do is smile."
Doc harrumphed, but Snow poked Grumpy. "You should know. I've only met three of your girls. How many do you have exactly?"
Grumpy rolled his eyes to the ceiling and began to mutter under his breath. "Thirteen, includin' you, Snow," he finally said.
"Thirteen!" Snow squealed. "Well no wonder you always know how to talk to me."
"You've raised thirteen girls?" Sneezy asked, his eyes dancing with merriment.
"Raised?" Grumpy asked in alarm. "I wouldn't say that."
"I would," Bastian and Millie said at the same time. They glanced at each other and chuckled. Grumpy flushed.
"I just wanted to make sure they were okay," he said quietly.
"And you did. They're all still doing just fine. I even saw Adele in Raverra. She's got a shop there."
"Glad she can make an honest livin', at least," Grumpy said. He looked around again. "We ready, Snow?"
Snow took a deep breath and straightened up. "Millie, come bind me and paint my face, please."
"There ain't gonna be any fanfare if you go as a boy," Grumpy said.
"We're less likely to be stopped," Snow said. "I don't want any more delays. My fiancé is currently made of crystal. So I will go as a boy. Millie?"
"Of course, Princess," Millie said, curtsying. Snow followed her out, and the Dwarfs looked at each other.
"How exactly does binding shirk, um, work?" Doc asked.
Grumpy explained it, and Doc grimaced. "That doesn't sound healthy."
"It's better than what could happen if the wrong person knows the street kid is a girl," Grumpy said softly.
They all grimaced. "Good point," Doc mumbled.
"You do what you have to do when you're on the street," Grumpy said.
"And the things you're unwilling to do shrink as the years go by," Bastian added, his eyes sad.
The brothers stared at the two friends who had grown up in the dark underbelly of the kingdom, and they ached for them. They would never fully understand what Grumpy had been through, let alone Bastian, but they were no longer afraid to find out. Sneezy patted his shoulder, and Grumpy shook himself out.
"Well, let's go."
Raising his hands up, he shattered the spells on the room, and glittering green fragments rained down. The door was now completely visible, and there was a sense of strangeness around the room now, like it had been stripped bare. The feeling persisted even as they looked around to see that everything that Grumpy had left was still in place.
"It'll remember you," Sleepy said with certainty. "There'll be stories croppin' up about this place in a few years."
"Don't much care. Can't do nothin' about it," Grumpy said. "Come on. We'll wait at the entrance."
He wound them down several tunnels to a small room. Grumpy and Bastian leaned against the wall to wait for Snow. The others touched the walls, fascinated.
"There's a door," Doc said. He tapped the wall and leaned close. "It's not Dwarf made, but it is very well hidden."
"Magic," Grumpy said. He looked around, frowning. "Friend of Calida's made this place. Wonder if it's that bitch that took over Raverra. She had enough power to be able to cast this kind of spell."
"You think?" Doc asked, tapping the wall again and frowning.
"I don't know," Grumpy said. "But it wouldn't surprise me."
Snow came in looking like a boy, a pack on her back and a steely look in her eyes that made Grumpy grin. "Ready to go whip them idiots into their place?"
"It should be… interesting," Snow said, smiling.
"Are we ready, Kasper?" Bastian asked.
"You keep calling me Kasper," Snow said. "But everybody else calls me by my name now. Why don't you?"
"Because you said to call you Kasper until you say otherwise," Bastian said. "And you haven't said otherwise."
Snow laughed. "You may call me whatever is best in the moment. You I trust."
"Well, that's an honor, Snow. Thank you."
"Just remember your place in formal settings," she advised.
Bastian inclined his head then looked at the Dwarfs. "Are we ready?"
"More than," Doc said. He prodded the invisible door again. "Though how we get out, I'm not pure, um, sure."
"Like this," Grumpy said, and he traced a small hole then tapped it. "Keyhole, but without a key," he said as the door swung open.
"Nifty!" Sneezy exclaimed.
Grumpy smiled and stepped outside into what turned out to be a pleasant evening. Bastian and Grumpy were unbothered by the time of day, and they simply hiked their packs up and padded out into the twilight. Doc and the others joined in, bemused by how they had only woken up a couple hours ago. They had been sleeping during the day? They hadn't even known it.
"Alrighty, Snow, how do you wanna do this?" Grumpy asked.
"Direction of Altenfeld?" Snow asked.
Grumpy and Bastian both scanned the area then pointed east.
"How long would it take to get there?" Snow asked.
"Three days on foot to Castell," Grumpy said. "Then we'd have to go through the forest to your castle. That would take another two."
"Can we cut that time down with magic?"
"Yep. We could probably make it back to the cottage in two days time. Then it's a few miles' walk and a flash and we'd be there."
"We could stay at the cottage for a night," Snow mused. "That would be nice."
"Two," Grumpy said. "We could get you ready for your coronation. I could get a message to Heinrich, who would bring a procession for you. Then we'd ride over."
"Ride?" Sneezy asked, sounding nervous. "Ride what? Not a horse."
"Probably ponies for you Dwarfs, if that's not offensive," Snow said kindly.
"Horses are awful big," Happy said.
"Ponies it shall be then. Are we agreed?"
They all nodded, and Bastian and Grumpy led the way. "We'll go a mile before we flash forward, Snow. Gets all strange with the portal I made. Keeps pullin' me back to Cliffside."
"That is acceptable," Snow said.
They walked with purpose toward Altenfeld, determined that Snow would be queen no matter what. What happened was that the council that had formed after Grimhilde's death had swayed many of the nobles into the idea that a king would be better suited to rule Germonia. However, it was also true that according to the laws of the kingdom, Snow was the rightful ruler unless proven incompetent, and they hadn't given her the chance to prove anything.
Grumpy and Bastian had sent the runners out days before, spreading the news telling the people the story of Snow White and the seven Dwarfs who were escorting her to Altenfeld to be coronated. The nobles had sway over the government, but Grumpy knew they could steal the hearts of the people. He hadn't told anybody but Bastian everything he'd told the different runners, and Bastian would say nothing about it for his sake. Still, Grumpy didn't know if the people would come. He had told many stories, and their magic had been a part of them. He hadn't held back, but had it been a bad idea?
Snow White was the fairest and kindest maiden he had ever met. She loved everybody around her, and she was such a brilliant girl. But would the people see only the magic she was born with? Then a new thought occurred to Grumpy as they walked. Was magic really only for bad people? It was something he'd never wondered before, and he thought long and hard about it on their march toward Altenfeld.