Ehrhart

Anastasia Meets Dopey

Anastasia stood up so fast she hit her head on the ceiling. It was the dwarf from the night she and her father had run away, and the one from her dream- the one with the soulful eyes and the big ears, the one who'd seen Anastasia in the tree but hadn't told the others she'd been there.

Dopey's mouth hung open, and he jumped out of bed, took a step forward, then promptly fell flat on his face.

"This is... this is him," Anastasia said, nodding eagerly. "The lone dwarf. I'm sure of it."

Dopey stood and scratched his head, sleepy and confused.

"I'm Anastasia," she said, holding out a hand. "You remember me." It wasn't a question.

The dwarf nodded and shook it eagerly.

"Remember her?" Happy asked. "From what?"

From the night you tried to kill me, Anastasia thought. "It's nothing," she said. "It's all over now."

"Oh, okay," Bashful said, stepping back a little.

"You're Dopey, right?" Anastasia said with a smile.

The dwarf nodded and tripped on his cloak, falling over again. Anastasia helped him up.

"He doesn't talk," Happy explained. "Doesn't know how."

"Have you ever tried?" Anastasia asked him.

Dopey shrugged wordlessly.

"I need you," Anastasia told him. "It's a long story, but I need your... um... blood."

Dopey scrambled back, shaking his head wildly.

"At first I thought I would have to kill you," Anastasia said. "But I can't do that, especially not to you."

Dopey gave her a shy grin and Anastasia laughed. "Would you mind if I pricked your finger?"

Dopey raised his arms and shrugged. Why?

So Anastasia leaned back and said, "Would you like to hear a story?"

Bashful, Dopey, and Happy eagerly sat down at Anastasia's feet.

And then she began to talk.