Flawed Gemstone

Precious Treasures

Sneezy's limp improved under Doc's care to the point where a person wouldn't have known he was bitten, and though he had faint scars, he fully recovered. Time passed and soon the cold weather really set in. The days were shorter and the nights were longer, meaning that they had more time to rest. During the day, the Dwarfs hiked to a forge a mile from the cottage to forge various types of jewelry. Grumpy refused to forge anything, flinching away from the heat as his shoulder burned, though he did listen and watch with rapt attention as the Dwarfs worked in the sweltering building, crafting beautiful items with gemstones and purified gold and silver.

The short days in the forge were contrasted by long evenings of sitting in front of the fire. Now there were two storytellers to listen to. Sleepy told fantastic stories of Dwarfs and their adventures, while Grumpy, having grown up solely around humans, told human tales that none of the Dwarfs had ever heard before. Sleepy wanted to hear them all again and again, building up his collection of stories with feverish passion. Grumpy feigned irritation, but he was secretly pleased to have an audience, a fact which Bashful was very aware of and the others had inklings about.

One evening, while sitting around the fire after supper, Doc opened a trunk and passed out wrapped items to his brothers. Dopey was the only one who didn't get one, but he didn't seem surprised. The five older Dwarfs carefully unwrapped the cloths to reveal the most exquisite treasures Grumpy had ever seen. The gems and gold and silver shimmered in the firelight and he watched as the brothers carefully began to clean the items. For a moment, he felt as if he was intruding on a private moment as he saw the mingled looks of reverence and sorrow on their faces. He had half a mind to slink up to bed and leave them to their tasks when Sneezy caught his eye.

"Perty, ain't they?" he asked.

"Mmhm." Grumpy couldn't help but stare at the delicate bracelet in his hands.

Sneezy held it out. "Whaddya a think?"

"Eh?" Grumpy gazed at it and answered without even thinking. "Dwarf made, pure gold, set with sixteen flawless rubies, each half a carat."

Sneezy's mouth fell open, and the others gazed at him in astonishment. They all were well used to his ability with gemstones, but they had never seen him observe a fine piece of jewelry before. His accuracy was actually a bit scary.

"Golly, that's amazin'," Bashful said. He held out the necklace in his hands. "Can ya do this 'un?"

Grumpy looked at it for a couple of seconds then spoke again. "Dwarf made. Chain's made of pure gold. Drops into a flawless white opal set in moulded silver." He paused and hesitated. "But that one's busted."

Doc made a strangled noise. "You can tell that?" he asked, an odd note in his voice.

The other brothers looked concerned as they peered at him. Grumpy became aware that he was treading near something very delicate, and it wasn't the broken pendant.

"Yeah. I can." He cleared his throat, looking away from Doc's intense gaze. "It's missin' an opal."

Doc stared at the necklace then looked away and headed up the stairs without a word. Grumpy was suddenly afraid that he'd somehow offended him. He looked around to see sad faces.

"I didn't mean nothin'," he said in a small voice.

"We know. It jest hurts him ta think about why it's broken," Bashful sighed.

"Does it hafta do with yer folks?" Grumpy asked faintly.

"Naw. With our brother," Sneezy said.

Grumpy paused. "Ya mentioned once that ya lost a brother. What happened?"