Q is for Quartz

If you must call me something, call me Quartz. It’s my favorite stone. I’m one of seven dwarves living in a forest, within easy walking distance of a mine. Yes, it’s a day long walk for humans. Dwarves can make it to the mine in two hours. It never fails to startle me, how fragile humans are. Take our princess, whom I found collapsed on our cottage doorstep, half naked and half mad. My brothers thought I was crazy, taking in a fragile little human, such as her. I’m not sure what came over me, myself. The look in her eyes reminded me of a wounded animal. It turns out she was running away from her stepmother, the queen. However, with a little care, a little quiet, and a little honest work, a tiny bit of color entered our princesss’ pale cheeks. We all became terribly fond of her. I even made a little wooden placard for her door, with the words, ‘The Fairest of Them All’ for her. She never felt worthy of the words, poor thing, even though she was the prettiest little creature imaginable. It wasn’t just her looks, or her delicate hands, it was the way she was willing to put those delicate hands to work, helping us, never uttering a word of complaint. She was always sweet to us, even though my brothers and I can be right grouches. It was obvious that our princess was a true beauty, through and through. Something cast a shadow over her sense of self worth, though. It left her feeling as if she could never be truly beautiful. I wonder if that stepmother of hers had something to do with it? I’d like to throttle that woman! I won’t waste my hopes on that, though. I’m hoping the right person will come all with the right words and deeds to take that shadow of self doubt away from our princess. You can read for yourself what happens to her in ‘Fairest’, by K.S. Trenten, when prizmbooks.com releases it on May 11, 2016. Our princess deserves a happy ending. Wish her the best!