27. Not Whistling, Just Working
Forced to duck through the low archway of the dwarves’ mine, Rosella found enough room inside to stand up straight.
While the cramped mine was lit by a lantern here and there, the true shining light came from the twinkle of diamonds that
lined the hard rock walls. The reflection in her big blue eyes was nothing short of true love. If it weren’t so dirty and the
air weren’t so stale, she might have thought this to be heaven. The mood here was nothing like heaven. Seven
dwarves worked diligently in the hall. Some laboriously swung pick axes into the walls reverberating in loud echoes,
while others pushed wheel barrels back and forth filled with crushed rock ready to be sifted through in search of
precious shiny diamonds. The group of small men worked like a well-oiled and powerful engine. Their seriousness
could not be questioned, and they had little time for chitchat with a dainty young princess whom seemed only a nuisance
and in their way.
Rosella squeaked and gasped as she was shimmied this way and that out of the way of the stalwart moody dwarves.
They hardly seemed like friendly little men at all she thought to herself, but she realized that she could be viewed as a
bother not to be bothered with so out of place. With that in mind, Rosella hurriedly peered around the mine for
something that might aid her in her quest. While taking some diamonds seemed like a grand idea, they were all deep
within the rock walls, held fast, part of the earth. So the princess set her mind to seek out something more practical.
That’s when her eyes fell upon a deep wooden bucket that lay on its side. While she couldn’t see an immediate use for
anything inside the bucket, she did see a possible need for using the bucket as a possible stool. Rosella stood taller
than the seven dwarves in the mine, but there were some places and things in Tamir that stood taller than Rosella. The
bucket might be just what she needed to reach new heights. Pondering these new ideas, the princess wondered if the
dwarves would miss their bucket. They didn’t seem to be using it to hold any water or precious diamonds for that matter,
but the dwarves were a serious bunch and they might not take well to thievery no matter how noble the cause. If only
there were a way to get them to stop working and clear out of here while I took the bucket, she thought to herself. Well,
it was time to decide what to do…
Try to sneakily take the bucket?
Or look around Tamir to find something to clear the cave with? Go to…