The brothers watched in horror as the mob of humans ran for them. Why had Grumpy insulted them like that?! Doc grabbed Grumpy in terror, but Grumpy glanced at him and winked then snapped his fingers. The crowd froze in a burst of green sparks as they reached them, unable to move anymore. After a moment, he snapped again, and they all unfroze, much calmer. The Dwarfs relaxed a little as the humans laughed good-naturedly. They didn't seem bothered by what Grumpy had done. They didn't even seem surprised that they'd just been frozen.
"Heya, rock head!" a wiry man said. "It's been a while."
"Yeah? Well I didn't wanna see your ugly mug again, Travis," Grumpy retorted. "Now stop botherin' us. We're stayin' for awhile, so your questions can wait. Now get!"
There was another laugh from the crowd, and many of them dispersed back to their tasks. A woman with grey hair came over and smiled at Snow.
"You must be one of Ivan's girls," she said, sounding amused. "You've got another one, Ivan?"
"Apparently," Grumpy grumbled. "I can't seem to stop gettin' more."
"Aw, you love me and you know it," Snow teased.
Grumpy flushed but smiled. "How's things been, Millie?"
"Crazy. Did you hear what happened in Raverra?"
"I was there for some of it," Grumpy said. "But I wanna hear what's goin' around."
"How long are you staying?" Millie asked.
"Dunno. Gots to do somethin' and figured we'd be safe here while we do it."
"Then we'll talk tomorrow. You all look like you've had quite a time. I can't wait to hear about it." Millie turned to Snow. "Are you bound, dear?"
"Not at the moment," Snow replied.
"Would you like to put on something more comfortable? We can wash your clothes and you can take a bath and rest."
"Oh, yes please," Snow said. She paused then looked at Grumpy. He nodded.
"Go on. Millie'll take care of you."
"Where will you stay?"
"My room," Grumpy replied. "Go on."
Snow followed Millie out of the room and down a hallway, leaving the Dwarfs standing there with Bastian. Bastian shrugged out of his pack and rolled his shoulders.
"I'm heading to my room. We'll talk tomorrow, Iv… Grumpy."
Grumpy nodded. "Yep." Bastian walked away and Grumpy glanced at the brothers. "This way."
He led them down a separate hallway. Bashful idly touched the wall, wondering what it was made of, and he got a shock.
"Are we in a mountain?" he blurted out.
"Naw. A cliff," Grumpy said. "Whole hub goes up and down lots of floors. Was built by somebody Calida knew."
After passing many doors, he finally stopped in front of a blank wall. For several moments he didn't move, then Doc cleared his throat.
"Well?"
Grumpy raised up his hand and traced a symbol on the stone. A glowing glyph appeared, burning bright green for a moment. Then a door materialized in the stone wall. Dopey tugged on him and asked him why the door wasn't there before.
"You really think I wanted Calida to be able to get in my room?" Grumpy asked, smiling a little. He hesitated for another brief moment before opening the door and leading them in.
It was like stepping back in time. Everything was just how he'd left it thirteen years before. The brothers followed him inside, and the door closed behind them, fading back into the stone. As they peered around his childhood room, Grumpy was suddenly overwhelmed by the awareness that the brothers were about to see more of himself than he'd ever expected to show them. He couldn't stand to be there anymore.
"I'll, ah, I'll go get some dinner for us," Grumpy muttered. "You can, I dunno, look around? If you want."
Before they could protest, he turned and flashed through a sheet of silver magic, leaving them alone. They stared at the place where Grumpy had vanished for a moment before they looked around again.
"It's so big," Bashful said softly.
"Bigger than our whole house," Sneezy said, sniffling.
They huddled there for a moment taking in the room full of Grumpy's past. They were almost afraid to touch anything just in case they were dreaming. Finally, Bashful could resist no longer, and he broke away from his brothers and began to walk around. They split up, spreading out across the large room.
Sleepy went to a work table tucked away in an alcove, and he was thrilled to see old tomes on it. Sitting in the chair, he scooted closer and reached for the nearest book. It was written in strange, runic characters, and he turned the heavy pages slowly, taking them in. A piece of parchment fell out of the pages, and Sleepy saw Grumpy's handwriting. Scanning the page, Sleepy realized at once that Grumpy had been trying to translate the books, and he squirmed excitedly at the few translated words. What stories were in these pages? He began leafing through the notes, seeing how far Grumpy had gotten and wondering if he wanted help with the project.
Happy and Sneezy were peering around a shelf that held dusty glass bottles. Happy picked one up and scrubbed it with his sleeve to reveal a vivid purple liquid.
"Potions?" Sneezy guessed then sneezed.
"Wonder what they do," Happy said.
"We'll have to ask," Sneezy said, tapping the bottle. He sneezed three more times, and Happy laughed and began cleaning away the dust.
Dopey found an old toy chest, and he opened it eagerly. He was disappointed that it had no toys, but there was plenty else to be interested by. He began digging through it, pulling out odds and ends that made no sense. He was respectful because he knew Grumpy wouldn't keep junk, but he couldn't figure out what the value of these items were.
When he pulled out a cloth, there was the distinct tinkle of a gemstone hitting the bottom of the chest. Dopey frowned and shifted things around until he saw a glimmer, and he pulled out a strangely colored opal. Ooh, now that kind of value he understood! He peered at it, appreciating the gem. It was so odd, looking like fire turned into stone, and he wondered where it came from. Then he saw a few more gems lying in other pieces of cloth, and he began unwinding them.
Bashful and Doc went straight for Grumpy's bed, which was unmade and covered with parchment and quills. A bottle of ink was on the bedside table, and they picked through the papers to see rough jewelry designs. They were crude, but that only made them more delightful. Grumpy refused to draw in front of them because of how well they could do it. They'd been taught by their father and uncle, except for Dopey, and they couldn't deny that they had far more skill than Grumpy. He just didn't understand that they'd had more time to do it, and he could do it too if he would just practice. But he had refused to draw anything for them, and they hadn't pushed.
"Look at this one," Bashful said, his voice soft.
Doc took the parchment in his hand and traced the edges, staring at the crude sketch of a necklace. It wasn't a bad design, and Doc squinted at it.
"Very nice," he said approvingly.
"Sorta," Bashful said then giggled and blushed when his brother looked at him.
"You know what I bean, uh, mean," Doc said. "It's a nice necklace, even if he couldn't quite capture it."
"A lot of these ain't bad," Bashful said, shuffling through the papers.
"Aw, they're awful."
They turned to see that Grumpy was back with food and drink.
"They're not," Doc argued, and the rest of the brothers looked over.
"Any of you could've done better." He set the food on a table.
"Because we've done it for years," Bashful insisted. "You just need to practice. But you never do."
"Don't wanna look stupid," Grumpy mumbled.
"I knows that," Bashful said. "But we won't think that nohow. Did I think you were stupid when I taught you how to mine?"
Grumpy shrugged, tapping the table anxiously. Bashful rolled his eyes and went over to grab some bread and cheese. He nudged Grumpy.
"They really ain't bad. Your designs, I mean."
"Calida said they'd never work," Grumpy muttered.
"She was wrong."
Grumpy shrugged again and looked over at Happy. "Want ham?"
Happy was over by the table in seconds. "You have pork!"
"Yep. Ain't bad. Ain't like your cookin' though."
Happy brightened at the compliment as they gathered around and ate. Once the food was gone, Grumpy had no excuse not to talk to them anymore. He glanced at them, unsure of where to start.
"What're those books?" Sleepy asked, pointing at the work table.
"Old human tales," Grumpy said.
"What were you doin' with 'em?"
"Teachin' myself runes so I could translate them. Didn't get very far. Never came back."
Sleepy nodded. "I figured. Still interested?"
Grumpy shrugged. "Don't know."
"I'll help."
"Yeah?" Grumpy glanced over at the books. "Maybe we could bring 'em back home. If you're really interested…?"
Sleepy's eyes danced. "Course I am, you idiot!"
"I'll pack 'em then."
"They look awful heavy," Smeezy said, eyeing them. "Who's gonna carry them?"
"I can make 'em lighter," Grumpy said. "Easy as that." He snapped and green sparks burst from his fingers, then he glanced at Happy. "'Cause pie still ain't easy for me."
Happy chuckled. "Snow tried to teach you when she taught me."
"Don't wanna make pie," Grumpy replied.
"What're those bottles?" Sneezy asked, pointing to the shelves.
"Potions. The few I knows how to make, anyhow."
"What do they do?" Sleepy asked.
Grumpy walked over, picked up a green potion and popped the cork. Before Doc could protest, he took a measured swallow, and there was a burst of golden light around him. He corked the bottle and set it aside.
"What did it do?" Bashful asked. "You look… different."
"Restorative draught," Grumpy said. He tapped his cheek, and the small cut that had been there was gone. "Not a very strong one, but you gotta start somewhere."
"That's pretty nifty!" Happy laughed. "What about that purple one?"
"Sleepin' potion. Not the one that Snow was under."
There was a brief pause as a new thought occurred to the brothers.
"Grumpy…" Doc said slowly. "You… Where did you flow, ah, go when we thought Snow was dead?"
"Guess you know I knew she wasn't dead," Grumpy said. He glanced at Sleepy. "You wanna see a story?"
"You mean hear?" Sleepy asked, his face lighting up.
"Nope."
He turned and walked to the middle of the floor and sat down, gesturing them over. They sat in a half circle in front of him, and he waved his hand. The room went completely dark and Grumpy spoke before the brothers could panic.
"Told you that apple was poison, but I knew more than that. You didn't ask how, so I didn't tell you."
"Snow was right," Bashful grumbled in the blackness.
"Shut up!" Sleepy ordered. "It's story time!"
"Ouch! That was me," Happy exclaimed.
"Enough!" Doc said. "Sit still!"
Dopey clapped, and Grumpy grinned as Sneezy began to sneeze and Sleepy shouted for quiet. He waved his hand and the brothers froze as images began playing in the dark. They settled down, and Sleepy sighed.
"Seein' stories play out? It… it's magic," he breathed.
Grumpy told his tale to the rapt brothers, who gazed around at flashes of memory, and fantastical moving pictures that acted out what had happened. When he was done, the brothers' faces were shining with delight, and they sat up as Grumpy waved his hand to light the fire. The flickering flames cast a warm glow over the brothers as they talked with wonder over all they had seen, but all too soon, Dopey let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes.
"Bed time?" Doc asked.
"If you wanna sleep, then sleep," Grumpy said. "Ain't no day or night in this place. Don't matter, at least. You can lose weeks in here if you're not payin' attention."
"Then I think bed is a good idea," Doc said. "How will we steep?"
"In hot water," Grumpy said. "Though I always called it washin'."
Doc turned red. "Oh, you know what I meant!"
"Yep. Gimme a bit and I'll sort it out. You can heat up water for steepin' over the fire."
Doc shoved him, embarrassed. Grumpy grinned then stood up and stretched. His eyes fell on the purple potion thoughtfully, then he shook his head and began to think on how to get more beds in the room. He'd be fine. He was okay. He had the brothers. That was enough.
But no. It wasn't.
Hours later, Grumpy sat up in bed with a hoarse shout, grasping his shoulder as it burned white hot. Confused images faded from his mind, and he sucked in a breath, shivering. He should have taken the stupid potion. Then he wouldn't have woken up the brothers. He could hear them moving around, and Grumpy sat still while his pulse slowed. Would they just go back to sleep?
"Grumpy? Is there tight, um, light? I don't know where you are."
"I'm fine," Grumpy grunted.
Silence. He huffed and threw out his hand. The fire burst to life in the fireplace, and the brothers began to move again. Bashful came over and sat on the edge of Grumpy's bed.
"Thought this might happen," he said softly.
"Should've taken the potion," he croaked. "I'm sorry."
"'S'okay, Grumpy," he said.
Grumpy rubbed at his shoulder frantically until Doc took his hand. "Breathe. It's okay. Just breathe. Let it fade."
Taking several deep breaths, Grumpy shuddered. "It hurts," he hissed. "I hate that bastard, Doc. I hate him so much."
"Of course you do," Doc said soothingly.
"I can't forge because of him," Grumpy groaned. Tears slipped out of his eyes. "I can't make Snow what she deserves. I can't do it, but I wanna do it. I just… just…"
Grumpy stopped talking and ground his teeth together as the burn persisted.
"Would the restorative draught help?" Sneezy asked hopefully.
"No," Grumpy said through gritted teeth.
Dopey crawled up in bed with him and lay down beside him, snuggling close. Grumpy gave a grimacing smile through his tears before squeezing Doc's hand. It took several more minutes before the feeling of fire faded and Grumpy could relax. He rolled his shoulders to relieve the tension then tenderly rubbed his left one.
"Better?" Doc asked.
"Yep." Grumpy got out of bed and padded over to the potion shelf to grab the purple potion. "But I'm still takin' the potion. I need sleep."
"You'll wake up?" Doc asked.
"Should only last for eight hours."
Doc nodded. "If you're sure."
Grumpy got back in bed then popped the cork and took a mouthful of the potion. Immediately the world became hazy, and he fumbled with the cork until Doc took it from him. He pressed Grumpy to lay down then pulled up the blankets and tucked him in.
"Fire…" Grumpy mumbled.
"Don't worry about it. Go to steep, ah, sleep."
Grumpy glanced up at Doc and stuck out his tongue playfully. Doc looked shocked then utterly delighted, and he reached over and pinched Grumpy's ear in retaliation. Grumpy turned over, chuckling himself to sleep as the brothers went back to bed. Home, he thought. This was home. Not Cliffside—that was a place Grumpy didn't care much about one way or the other—but the brothers in front of him. Wherever they were, that would be home.