The dark blue arrow cut through the air, passing the eyes of The Dolorosa. His mother's tears blended with her blood. Thousands of witnesses stared in painful sorrow as it pierced the flesh of their hero and enemy alike.
"Let him go!" The two blue bloods held back The Disciple, forcing her head into the harsh gravel. Her cry fell on deaf ears. Her struggles proved useless in escaping, causing further injury to her battered body. Chanting came from the crowd of outraged low bloods.
"Signless, Sufferer, Signless!"
"Quiet!" Hissed the Executioner. The noise rose, rioting breaking the once silent streets. The Sufferer had accepted his fate but held strong as his burning blood dripped from his many wounds. His breath was becoming ragged with each passing second. The strength that he had shown before, was beginning to fade as he began to pass. The Disciple's cries where gone now. She lay on the ground in a heap of ruined hair and olive blood. The chants became louder. As The Sufferer raised his head to look upon his people, a smile graced his beaten face. He had finally raised an army to fight the corruption of this world, but as the riot grew, so did the anger of the Indigo blood. Holding tight to the bow, he pulled out another arrow and served the mutant his sentence quickly. An arrow to the head ended his smile abruptly.
"NO!" The once quite Disciple screamed in anguish. The sounds of the people in the crowd slowly faded into gasps and cries of shock. Everyone had been shocked by the sudden end, including the two blue bloods holding back The Disciple. She struggled from her bonds and ran to her Sufferer. Her body thudded against his and she held on to him tightly. "NO! No, no, no!" His limp body was still warm in her arms. The Disciple let out a sound of pure torment as his blood, dripped onto her face and hair. As The Disciple cried, weak and in the open, The Executioner took aim once again. He pulled back the metal arrow aiming for her back.
In an instant, she turned her face to him. Sorrow filled eyes and broken body filled The Executioner with intense pity. He took in a deep breath of air and straightened his bow to shoot again, but looking at her face made him feel weak. After a moment, he lowered his arrow. "What are you doing!?" cried another blue blood next to him. "Quiet, or so help me, I'll shoot you."
The Disciple took her chance and grabbed the bloodied, discarded cloak of her past lover and ran off. Her heart beat thudded in her ears. The large Indigo blood could only watch her run.
A loud cry interrupted Meulin's deep thought. "Ms. Leijon, Ms. Leijon! Rowann is hitting me!" A small yellow blooded troll was pushing an older purple blooded boy. "Oh, stop it, the both of you!" Meulin reached in and pulled the two apart. "What's wrong with the two of you?" She said angrily. "Thorin called me a smelly purple blood!"" complained Rowann. "Only 'cuse ya' called me a "Stupid mustard blood!"" Responded Thorin. Meulin growled in dismay, frowning at the two boys. "Have all my lessons gone to waist on you two!?" both boys looked down guiltily. "What have I taught you?" Scolded the old troll. "Not to look down on one another for our blood…?" Rowann spoke up first.
Meulin looked down on them for a moment before giving a disgruntled sigh and falling back onto her old chair in her cave. "You are both lucky to be living in a time of freedom. Far from the reaches of The Queen." Thorin took his chance to speak. "Because she's out conquering in space!" he said proud that he could quote some knowledge. Meulin smiled "Yes you are right. She's far from here. I hope she rots honestly." Both boys giggled at their teacher.
"Have I ever told you two the story of the sufferer?" She offered lovingly, hoping to get the two to calm down. "About the teacher of peace?" Rowann pondered. "What about our lessons?" Thorin piped up. Rowann hit him. "Ow, what did I say!?" Thorin complained. "Oh come off it." Meulin waved her hand. "You two can have a break for today, and this is a lesson in itself." She lifted a blanket off of the back of her chair and placed it over her lap. The mountains where always too chilly at this age. "Sit down, I'll tell you." The two sat down almost instantly. Her stories where always the best.
"It starts in the grub palace." She started. "There, a mutant blood was born into the arms of one of the workers in the palace. Her name was Porrim, though the people often referred to her as The Dolorosa.
The loud sounds of the mother grub moving around and growling echoed off the cave walls, and the smell of the genetic material tainted the air with a sour kind of smell. Porrim stood her post, counting the eggs and keeping track of the blood colors. "Indigo, 43. Brown, 29. Purple, 12. Yellow, 48." She was muttering to herself with an ink dipped pen posed at the edge of her mouth. "Porrim!" a deep voice called to her from the west wing. Her head tilted up to look in the direction of the sound, It was Kenmer, an olive blood she worked with in the birthing department. "Eggs are about to hatch, you might want to leave when the lusus get here." He said, pointing his finger towards the inner part of the cave. "I'll be there in a moment, I just need to finish my count for the day and get rid of any duds." She responded lamely.
"Alright, but I'm not going to be here when you get attacked for lingering around the grubs too long."
"I won't be here long, I promise." She gave him a small smile. He shrugged his shoulders and left the room. Porrim turned back to the pile of slim covered eggs when something caught her eye. "A colorless.." There, sitting near the bottom of the pile was a small grey egg, no mucus or spots of color could be visibly seen. Porrim checked over her shoulder to make sure no one else was with her in the huge damp pit. All that sat around her was the toiled earth and rubble. She advanced upon the oddity slowly.
She picked it up and turned the egg in her gloved hand, except for the dirt that was attached to the egg, there was nothing, no sign of color or the usual mucus that covered egg's normally. Her hand brushed away the dirt and she brought the egg close to her ear and shook it. There was a slosh, so it wasn't an empty egg. Was it a dud? She put her hand over the bottom of it to check the temperature. It was rather hot so it couldn't be a dud.
Just then, a loud cracking sound came from her hands, it frightened her so much she nearly dropped it. Wondering if she had held it to tight, Porrim looked over the egg and noticed a small crack near the top. "Oh no, now I've done it…" her brows furrowed. The crack began to grow, the crack splitting down the middle and splintering. Porrim froze in place. It was hatching. The egg fell apart in her hands and what came from the egg was something she wasn't expecting. A bright red grub the size of her palm wriggled out of the debris of its previous home. "m-mutant.." Was the first word out of her mouth which was currently hanging open.
Her first thought was to kill it but its big black eyes opened and it let out a soft squeak, looking up at her. The sound made her pause. Her heart beat was loud in her ears. The wriggler crawled towards her, one of its legs feeling around for the ground beneath her hands, and upon finding none moved back and made a small sound of disapproval. It looked around with its new eyes and back to her. Porrim's heart was begging to warm just looking at the little grub. She felt a strong rush of pity wash over her. She moved the grub closer to her and held it against her chest.
She could feel the little grub struggling in her arms and the squeaks bounced of the cave walls. Porrim began to rock the child back and forth in her arms. She had no clue what she was doing but it seemed to calm the grub down. It began to struggle less and soon it was asleep in her arms, making little noises as it breathed out. She couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. They sat like that for several minutes.
She was so enveloped in the little grub that she hadn't noticed the grubs hatching around her. A loud gurgle woke her from her peaceful place and the grub in her arms began to turn, upset it had been woken. Porrim looked up, she was staring into the eyes of a huge insect lusus. The huge bug's feelers moved out to tap her face and the young grub. When it touched the wriggler, its reared back in disgust and anger. More loud gurgles and screeches, where made by the towering insect and she pulled back the grub in defense. Its huge legs rose above her, ready to attack. Porrim hissed loudly and pulled the grub back into her tunic. She rushed off down the hall and into a room, slamming a large wooden door behind her, closing and latching it before the insect could reach them. There where a few scratching noises and a bit of tapping from its feelers for a moment, but not to long the bug had given up, deciding it wasn't worth the trouble of coming after them. Porrim held the squeaking grub to her chest, breathing heavily.
It took a few moments for her to come through but she managed to push herself up from the door and hide the grub back in her tunic. She rocked him gently and soon he began to fall silent. "I have to get out of here…" She thought, biting her lip and looking for the best way out of the cave. She took the west rout and was sure to go slow as to not wake her new sleeping discovery. On the way out, she passed by Kenmer again. "Hey Porrim, leaving so early? You didn't disturb the lusi did you?" She shook her head. "Uh, no, no, there was no problem. I'm leaving now. Bye!" She quickly scurried off down the corridor and out of the cave. Kenmer could only look after her with an eyebrow raised. "Weird troll…" He muttered to himself, going back to work.
Not ten minutes out of the cave did the grub begin to cry and squeak again. Porrim swaddled the tiny grub in her tunic's cape, holding him up so that no troll could see his color. Regardless of there being almost no one out on the street this early before the jobs let out. "Quiet young one, you don't want us to be caught do you?" The little red grub only looked at her with his big black eyes, blinking. She pursed her lips, analyzing him. The short haired troll woman let out a soft sigh. "My I just can't stay angry at you now can I?" She said with a soft smile. The grub cooed, smiling back.
Porrim held him close and made her way home, to the old cottage on the hill. The old wooden house was a little run down and small, but it would have to do for them now. She entered, closing the door to the cottage and putting the little wriggler on the ground. The little bug eyed young one began to squirm on the ground, and move around. Porrim watched him on the ground from the door way with a smile. "Welcome home, Kankri." She smiled softly.