Snow White

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

It's been about a week and a half of living with the seven dwarfs and I couldn't be happier.

   Cooking and cleaning aren't exactly my strong suits since it's been done for me my entire life, but I'm getting used to it.

   "Hey, Snow, we're about to head to the mines," Barnaby says.

   The seven of them all are decked out in their work uniforms and have their pickaxes in their hands.

   "Have a great day at work!" I say excited for them. "I'll be here, like always," I whisper and sigh.

   Flint comes over to me. "You okay, princess?" he asks.

"Um, yeah," I lie.

   I've enjoyed the dwarf's company and kindness, but it gets lonely being stuck in this cottage every single day. It's hard not being able to roam my kingdom freely, but it's for my own good.

   At the same time though, is it worth it to hide in fear for my life? No matter what, Sage is after me. She's going to find a way to reach me and she will get my heart in her hands soon enough. I know it's going to happen eventually, so should I live out the rest of my short life having a good time, or should I just hide with the small hope that Sage will forget all about me? This time, I don't know what I should do.

   "Snow, don't lie to us. I can tell there's a lot on your mind," Flint says with his sorrowful hazel eyes.

   I let out a big sigh. "I just wish I didn't have to fear for my life. I wish Sage wasn't after me," I say as my mind starts to wander.

   I wouldn't be here hiding if Sage wasn't out to get me. If Father hadn't married Sage, this wouldn't be a problem. If Mother hadn't died, Father wouldn't have had to get married again.

   Why Mother? Why did you have to die on me?

   "She could come with us for the day, right Flint?" Quert asks and gives me a big bright smile.

   Flint strokes his long black beard and thinks for a moment. "I guess so. Queen Sage isn't likely to search for her in the mines and it's not like the cottage needs any more cleaning," he shrugs.

   "Really? Are you sure I won't get in the way of your work? I know it's very important," I say, downplaying the fact that I really want to go with them.

   A change of scenery would be really nice.

   "You never get in the way, Snow!" Grub cheers.

   "Okay," I smile and twirl my short hair. "If you insist."

♡♡♡♡

The next thing I know, I'm following the seven dwarfs through the Enchanted Forest, on the way to the magical mines filled with gems of all sorts.

   I don't know much about their work, all I know is that they collect gems for Father in exchange for gold coins. That's the deal that they have and from what my father says, the dwarfs always try to scam him for more gold than what their gems are worth. The stories Father told me about the tiny creatures have always been bad, and that's why I was hesitant to trust them. Now that I know them for their kindness and I know how Father has been acting recently since he's married Sage, maybe he's been lying this entire time.

   When my Mother passed away five years ago, I noticed that my father always seemed to be on edge. I always blamed his outbursts and anger on the fact that he lost his queen, but maybe I've been wrong this whole time.

   I don't know though.

♡♡♡♡

After about a fifteen-minute walk to the mysterious gem mines, the eight of us arrive and it's nothing like I'd imagine it to be.

   Deep holes and tunnels have been dug under the ground to create the mines that are full of dirt and grime, but have little hints of sparkles which I know are the beautiful gems that the dwarfs collect.

   "So this is our home away from home," Copper laughs and puts his tiny arms out, showing me the place.

   "It's nothing special, but this is it," Flint says.

   I look around for a little bit and admire everything. The small gems in the mines that are hidden in between the muck and mud, remind me of my life.

   In this world, there are a lot of dirty and nasty people. These are the people like Sage, who want to hurt me, and the people who don't believe she wants to hurt me. They're the dirt.

   The small and rare gems represent the dwarfs who have shown kindness to me. Hard to come across, but beautiful when you do.

   "I'm sure you've noticed already Snow, but we all wear different colored hats," Flint says with a laugh.

   "I did notice that," I laugh.

   "Anyway, there are seven different types of gems in this mine and each has a color that matches our hats. We play a game each day and try to collect the most gems that match our colors," Flint explains. "Whoever has the most color-coordinating gems by the end of the day, gets the largest cut of the money we earn."

   "That's really neat!" I exclaim.

   "Yeah, so make sure you help me collect some rubies. I want to be the one to win today!" Flint says and snickers at the other six dwarfs.

   "No, Snow! You gotta collect the emeralds!" Barnaby explains and grabs my hand to pull me away to the place I'm sure he finds the beautiful emerald gemstones that match his green hat.

♡♡♡♡

Barnaby and Gus have taught me how to use the pickaxe and I'm pretty good at it if I do say so myself. At first, I was aiming right at the gems and I was breaking them in half. Gus suggested that I aim right new to the gem, so I don't ruin it. Now that I know that, I've been going at it for hours and it's honestly really fun.

   Flint gave me a wheelbarrow and I'm now counting how many gems I have. I've collected four green emeralds for Barnaby, six red rubies for Flint, two blue sapphires for Chuck, only one yellow citrine for Cooper, five purple sapphires for Grub, three brown jaspers for Quert, and unfortunately for Gus, I haven't got any orange topazes.

   "I've got six rubies, Flint!" I exclaim and wink at my friend.

   Poor Gus looks over at my wheelbarrow and sighs. "None for me, wow, Snow. I thought you liked me," he huffs.

   "I do, Gus! There just weren't any topazes in this area!" I laugh.

   "Eh, it's alright. I collected fourteen for myself so it doesn't matter anyway," he laughs and smiles at me.

   "Fourteen, that's nothing, brother! I've got twenty-two sapphires!" Chuck exclaims.

   "Alright, alright. Calm down, everybody," Flint says. "We all did good today and Snow got to see a day in our lives. I'd call it a success!"

   "Thank you for letting me see this place, it was fantastic," I smile. "Now are you boys hungry? I can whip something up real quick when we get back to the cottage!"

   All fourteen eyes grow wide at the mention of dinner and the dwarfs all pick up their wheelbarrows and start heading to the mine's entrance.

   Today was a great day and I'm so happy that I've been able to spend time with my seven new best friends.

   I'm starting to realize that I don't need Father, Asher, Penelope, or anyone else in my past to feel happy. Everything I need is right here by my side as the seven little dwarfs smile as they take their wheelbarrows full of gemstones. They bring me happiness that I haven't felt in months, and I feel good about my decision to come back to them.