This will be a collection of one-shots based around my Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs story. They would be best understood if you read the main story. There will be at least one more one-shot for sure, but I'm focusing on story 3 at the moment. There might be more in the future. This story will be marked as complete but could be updated if I get another idea.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Full Story reading order:
Flawed Gemstone
Jewel-Ensconced Rose
Refining Fire - Currently posting
Story 4 - Coming soon
PS Thank NPI for reminding me to publish this here. :)
Chapter Description:
In the second year of living together, the brothers find out just why Grumpy never goes to the forge.
One biting winter morning, Grumpy bundled into his coat before dawn and trudged out the door with the six brothers. The snow crunched under his boots as they wound down a path that Grumpy had never taken. He'd never wanted to. He'd managed to avoid it last winter, but Doc had finally worn him down. He was so excited to show Grumpy their forge that he finally couldn't say no. He would be fine for one day, surely.
His shoulder burned a little.
He ignored it.
When they got to the building, Grumpy peered around, shivering. There were benches and tables covered in tools, and two smelting furnaces. Grumpy eyed them warily as his shoulder burned again.
"What do we do?" Grumpy asked, trying to hide his unease. Bashful didn't give him a second look so it must have worked.
"We have to restoke the fires," Doc said. "Get to it!"
He was practically vibrating with excitement, and Grumpy couldn't bear to disappoint him. He walked over to the far side of the room and peered at the tables.
"What's all this?" he asked, hoping for a detailed explanation. Doc didn't disappoint and jumped into a description of what each tool was used for and how it assisted in the process of producing jewelry. Grumpy was interested, and he relaxed and asked some questions. Doc was more than happy to answer everything, but far too soon, he ran out. By then the room was stiflingly hot, and the doors were wide open to let out waves of heat.
"All ready?" Doc asked his brothers.
"Yep," Sneezy said, wiping sweat off his forehead.
"Come on, we'll show you how it works."
Grumpy didn't fight as Doc grabbed his wrist and led him over to the furnace, determined to be okay. But the heat that swept over him was far too much for him. Doc was trying to explain something, but Grumpy could do nothing but grab his shoulder as it burned white hot.
"Doc!" Bashful boomed suddenly from behind him. Then the ground rushed up to meet him.
Doc spun to see Grumpy faint dead away, his face as white as a sheet. He swore and lunged forward, but he missed him as he hit the ground. The others bolted over as Doc checked for a pulse. He was relieved when he found one.
"Happy, help me lift him," Doc ordered.
They quickly settled him on a pallet they used in case one of them was ill or injured, and Doc called for cold water and a rag. Dopey hurried to obey. The others all stared at Grumpy, who looked so pale despite the heat of the forges. Dopey brought the requested items, and Doc began gently mopping Grumpy's face with the rag. After a moment, he stirred and blinked, clearly confused.
"What happened?" he asked blearily.
"You fainted," Bashful said.
Grumpy looked scandalized. "Did not!"
Sneezy snickered. "Uh huh. Sure."
"Sneezy, not this," Bashful said quietly, and Sneezy sobered at once.
"Sorry. You okay?"
"I'm fine," Grumpy said, swatting Doc away.
"Don't be difficult," Doc scolded. "You're as light, uh, white as snow."
Grumpy hadn't been so humiliated since he'd been publicly lashed. "I'm fine," he insisted.
Doc's eyes narrowed. "Oh ho, you're fine, are you?"
Grumpy stared defiantly at him. "Yep."
"Stand up then."
Grumpy knew he couldn't. His legs were too weak. He glared at Doc, who nodded, satisfied. "I think we'll let Grumpy rest and then throw, ah, go home early."
Grumpy looked away as Doc and the brothers left to tend to their work and shut everything down. There was no good reason for them to stop working because of him, but there was no arguing.
When they were all properly busy and Grumpy finally felt well enough, he pushed himself up and left, smarting with humiliation as he trudged back to the house. He'd been afraid of fainting. It was one of his dark secrets, that searing heat affected him so badly. All because of Emil and his Dwarf-hating gang. He rubbed his shoulder and a tear fell down his cheek, freezing in the chilly air. He was glad when he finally saw the cottage.
Letting himself in, he waved his hand and threw a ball of fire into the grate, where it caught the wood they'd laid out for their return. He shrugged out of his coat then settled down and stared at nothing. He didn't want to see them again. It was too much for his wounded pride to bear. He reached up and rubbed his shoulder as it ached a little, like the faint memory of burning pain.
Grumpy shook himself out after a few minutes and got up to prepare some hot tea for when they got back. As much as he wished they'd just stay and work, he knew better. He expected them any minute, and ten minutes later, in they came, with Doc leading them. He looked absolutely thunderous as he stormed over.
Grumpy was unconcerned. "Want tea?" he asked. Then he caught sight of the others' faces behind Doc, ranging from horrified to amused to awed at his response. Before he could process what was happening, Doc grabbed him and forced him out of the kitchen.
"Sit!" he ordered, his eyes flashing.
"Why?" Grumpy asked. "I done told you I'm fine."
"Absolutely preposterous!" Doc boomed. "You fainted! And then you bust, erm, crust—ah!—just leave?! No sir! You are in no state to be doing anything! Now sit down before we tie you to a chair!"
Grumpy hadn't been yelled at like that since Calida, and it scared him. Bashful seemed to realize he was frightened by Doc's aggressive response because he came between them.
"Calm down, Doc," he said.
"Calm down?" Doc demanded.
"Yes," Bashful said sternly. "Calm down before you make it worse."
"Worse?" Doc asked. Bashful gestured at Grumpy, who looked a bit frightened. Doc took a deep breath, settling a bit. "Don't you ever just leave again," he said. "I was worried about you."
Grumpy peered at him, subconsciously rubbing his shoulder as it burned. "No reason for that," he grumbled. "Want tea?"
"Sit," Doc insisted, grabbing his arm and guiding him to a chair. "And I'll get you some flea, erm, tea."
Grumpy tried to protest again, but Doc gave him a burning look, so he settled down as Doc turned and went to prepare tea. The others stared at Grumpy, and he reached up and rubbed his shoulder again, glancing at them. Sneezy walked over, grinning.
"You're a fool for leavin'," he said.
Happy laughed. "I thought Doc would flay you alive!"
"I done told you—" Grumpy began.
"No, you're not fine," Bashful cut in. "And I suggest you listen to Doc. He's right worried about you."
"No reason to be," Grumpy repeated in exasperation, but he rubbed his shoulder again, a bit harder than before.
As they settled in the warm room with cups of tea, Grumpy rubbed his shoulder every so often. An expression of unease and fright was in his eyes, and it didn't dissipate. Bashful knew Grumpy was unaware of what he was doing. Doc tried to fuss over Grumpy, but Grumpy fought every gesture of kindness and care, insisting he was fine. The rest of the day was spent in tense silence broken by Doc and Grumpy squabbling. By bedtime things were worse than ever.
They all settled in to sleep with no pleasant chatter, and the room fell silent. For a few hours, things were still and quiet. Then Grumpy began to shiver in his sleep. His dream wasn't a dream, but a memory.
He was being chased through the streets by Emil and his gang. He ducked and dodged through the crowd, hoping to get away. But he didn't. Emil pinned him once he'd caught him, and he jeered.
"What's the matter, tunnel rat?" he teased.
Grumpy told him what he could do to himself in the most vulgar way he could. Emil looked mad, and he looked around. They were by a blacksmith shop, and Emil stood up once two more of his friends pinned Grumpy. Grumpy watched in terror as Emil took a branding iron with a star on it and placed it in the fire. Grumpy began to fight again, and he tried desperately to use his magic, but he couldn't feel anything but primal terror as Emil took the iron out of the fire. The star glowed red, and Grumpy stared at it in terror. He was turned over and he heard cloth ripping as his shirt was torn open. Emil placed one hand on his shoulder, the heat from the brand nearly too much to bear. Grumpy thought his heart would explode it was beating so fast.
"You're going to learn to mind your manners, tunnel rat."
And then the red hot metal pressed into his shoulder…
The brothers were startled awake as Grumpy screamed. The noise was high-pitched, terrified, and they all bounded from their beds, expecting an attacker. Doc lit a candle as Grumpy continued to scream, and the brothers saw he was thrashing around in his sleep. Sneezy grabbed a cup of water and ran over to the side of Grumpy's bed then threw the water in his face.
Grumpy yelped in surprise as he woke up, then he sat up, got twisted in his blanket, and fell out of bed. Bashful hurried to untangle him, but Grumpy lashed out, kicking him away. Bashful gasped as he stumbled back and landed on the floor. Grumpy curled up against the wall, clutching at his shoulder and whimpering. He rocked back and forth, gasping in little breaths as he rubbed his shoulder harder than ever. Doc finally understood what was going on.
"Stop!" he ordered his brothers, who were trying to figure out how to help. They obeyed. Doc approached slowly and sat down in front of Grumpy, who peered at him with large, frightened eyes. "You're going to hurt yourself," Doc said.
"Hurts…" Grumpy muttered, rubbing harder.
Doc scooted forward and took his hand, pulling it away from his shoulder. "It squirts, uh, hurts pretty badly, eh?"
Grumpy nodded, reaching up with his other hand to rub his shoulder again. Doc took that one, too. "Now don't go hurting yourself. You're okay now," he soothed.
"Hurts…"
"It will fade," Doc said. "Take a steep, um, deep breath."
Grumpy obeyed, then he crawled forward into Doc's lap and hid his face, still shaking from the pain that burned like fire on his shoulder. Doc wrapped his arms around him, and Bashful and the others joined them, soothing him as he shivered and shook. After awhile, the burn began to fade, but Grumpy didn't want to move. He had never been held quite like this before, but it was nice. Maybe if he pretended to be asleep, he'd be allowed to stay.
"There now," Doc said. "All better?"
Grumpy grunted, burrowing his face in Doc's shoulder. Doc squeezed him tighter, and Grumpy fell asleep again, too tired to stay awake. After a few minutes, Doc spoke.
"Phantom pain."
The others frowned. "Huh?" Bashful asked.
"He was feeling rain, uh, pain from his brand," Doc said softly. "I think he dreamed about it."
"I think he knew this would happen," Bashful said. "He really didn't wanna go to the forge."
"I shouldn't have pushed," Doc said miserably.
"You didn't know," Sleepy muttered then yawned. "Can we go back to bed?"
"Bashful, help me," Doc said.
Between the two of them, they got Grumpy back in bed. Doc hesitated, gazing at him then Bashful took the candle.
"He's clingy," was all he said.
Doc knew what Bashful meant, but he didn't care as he got in bed beside Grumpy. Sure enough, as soon as he was settled, Grumpy curled into him. Doc embraced him and held him close as Bashful snuffed the candle. It was so late that it was easy to fall asleep again, and Doc kept a tight hold on Grumpy as the world faded.
Grumpy awoke the next morning, sore and disoriented. At first, he was puzzled by the warmth beside him, but it felt so comfortable and nice that he didn't think too much of it. Then the warmth moved, and he was pulled closer to whoever it was. Grumpy's eyes flew open, and he expected to see Bashful lying beside him—sometimes Bashful would crawl into his bed if he had a bad night—but it wasn't Bashful. It was Doc. The memories from the night before flooded his mind, and he was absolutely mortified.
Grumpy used his magic to get out of Doc's hug, and he grabbed his clothes and bolted downstairs to get dressed before any of them stirred. He threw out a ball of fire into the fireplace and huddled close as he tugged his pants on. When he had tugged his boots on and was reaching for his coat, there was a noise from upstairs. Grumpy snagged his coat and ran outside, unable to face any of them.
Bashful watched him go and turned to Doc, who was sitting up, concerned. "He's gone. Again."
"Oh fiddlesticks," Doc muttered. He got out of Grumpy's bed and they all quickly got dressed.
They hurried downstairs, and Doc took charge. He set Happy to make breakfast, and he and Bashful tugged on their coats. Dopey jumped up and down, pointing at his own coat.
"No. You're stayin'," Sleepy said, grabbing his brother.
Dopey looked very upset.
"We'll bring him pack, erm, back," Doc promised.
The two brothers walked outside and began to follow Grumpy's footprints in the snow.
"Why does he stew, er, do things like this?" Doc asked as they headed into the forest.
"He ain't used to bein' weak, Doc," Bashful said gently. "He's so ashamed of what happened at the forge."
"He has nothing to feel ashamed of," Doc argued.
"Yep. Now we gots to tell him that. And we need to be gentle, okay?"
Doc nodded, and they rounded a copse of trees and finally found Grumpy. He was curled up tight, and he glanced at them with wary eyes before looking away. Bashful plodded over.
"Real nice mornin'," he said.
"Go away."
"Nope," Bashful said. He sat down beside Grumpy. Doc joined him on his other side. Grumpy curled in on himself, glaring at nothing. There was silence as they sat still for a while. After fifteen minutes, Grumpy shifted.
"Sorry," he whispered gruffly.
"No need to apologize," Doc assured him. "We were just concerned. We fill, ah, still are."
"We'd like to talk about it with you," Bashful said. "Is that okay?"
Grumpy didn't move for another minute then nodded. "I guess."
"Good. Then we should get inside where it's warm." Bashful stood up and held out his hand. Doc did the same. Grumpy hesitated then took them and was pulled to his feet, then they hurried through the biting cold into the house. Dopey ran over and threw his arms around Grumpy, squeezing him hard. Grumpy grunted and knelt down to hug Dopey, hiding his face. Bashful understood.
"Breakfast ready?" he asked to get the attention off their friend.
"Just about," Happy said, turning back to the stove.
Dopey led Grumpy over to his chair and tugged on his coat. Grumpy reluctantly took it off and handed it over then stood there feeling awkward and shy. He'd never panicked like that in front of them before. Bastian had seen it. All of his girls had seen it, too. But this felt different. He didn't know what to do or say.
Bashful led him to the table as Happy fixed him a plate. Grumpy immediately began eating so he didn't have to talk. Bashful sat beside him and gently patted his back, but Grumpy flushed and flinched away. Bashful sighed, and breakfast was eaten in a tense silence. Once they had cleared the table, Grumpy couldn't run anymore. Doc wrapped and arm around him and led him to sit in front of the fireplace.
"How's your shoulder?" he asked.
"Fine," Grumpy said at once.
"Grumpy," Doc chided.
Grumpy reached up to touch his brand and winced. Doc clicked his tongue, and he got up to get his kit. After digging around for a moment, he came back with a jelly-like substance.
"Let me see."
Grumpy flushed but shrugged out of his shirt. Everybody winced at the mark on his shoulder. He'd rubbed his brand so hard through his nightshirt that the friction had chafed his skin raw. Doc carefully massaged some of the jelly into his shoulder, and cool, blissful relief spread across the wound. Grumpy relaxed and swallowed. It was almost as good as a restorative draught.
"Better?"
"I guess," Grumpy mumbled. He paused. "Sorry for what happened."
"I bold, ah, told you that you don't have to apologize," Doc said.
"We're just worried about you," Happy said earnestly. "It must have been awful bad."
Grumpy nodded, toying with his beard. "One of the worst things I ever been through," he whispered.
The brothers gazed at him compassionately, and Doc leaned forward to study the burn scar. It was a perfect brand, which meant it had been less painful than it could have been. When he'd been apprenticed by a doctor, he'd once seen slaves come in after brandings gone wrong. It had been horrific, and some hadn't survived the night. He was grateful Grumpy had survived.
Reaching over, he laid his fingers over the pale scar. Grumpy started and looked at him. Doc smiled a little. "There's nothing to be ashamed of."
Grumpy flushed and looked away. "Stupid of me to faint," he muttered.
"No. It's not," Doc said sincerely. "It's okay to not be okay, Grumpy. Now will you let us take wear, ah, care of you?"
Grumpy glanced over. He did still feel terrible, and he knew he would probably have more nightmares. They came in batches once they started. He wanted so badly to be cared for, but nobody had ever told him it would be this hard.
Doc took his silence as an assent, and he pulled Grumpy up and settled him into a chair. After helping him put his shirt back on, Doc smiled at Grumpy, who looked away. Then he began to fuss, just like the day before. This time, Grumpy didn't stop him.
